“Homodoping” strategy for building conducting Langmuir‐Blodgett films

A strategy leading to the formation of conducting LB films without any doping treatment is investigated. The method consists of mixing, within the same layer, semi-amphiphilic and amphiphilic derivatives of the same electroactive nucleus (here Tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ)). LB films obtained in this way with the sulphonium TCNQ salt as the semi-amphiphilic molecule and the octadecyl TCNQ as the amphiphilic one in the molecular ratio 1 to 2, are of high optical quality. Such films show a d.c. conductivity which is almost constant with variation in the number of layers, down to one bilayer. Preliminary results obtained by changing the nature of the counterion in the semi-amphiphilic molecule are in good agreement with those of the sulphonium TCNQ-octadecyl TCNQ0.