The recent development of nanoscience and nanotechnology could revolutionize computers and electronics by miniaturizing transistors and developing novel integration methods. This proposal aims at performing a feasibility study on the synthesis of conducting polymer nanostructures and their junctions with aligned carbon nanotubes. The proposed research stemmed from our long-term interest in nano-/micro-fabrication of conducting polymers and aligned carbon nanotubes. The main approach involves the use of nanobubbles generated on aligned carbon nanotube tips as the template for electrodeposition of conducting polymers, leading to the generation of novel conducting polymer nanostructures (e.g. polymer nanotubes) and conducting polymer-carbon nanotube junctions. Examples include the formation of novel multiple metal-semiconductor or semiconductor-semiconductor junctions by sequential electrodeposition of different conducting polymer nanostructures on the aligned carbon nanotube tips and novel switchable junctions by electrochemical and/or chemical doping of the conducting polymer components. In conjunction with the proposed multi-scale modeling and simulation efforts for fundamental understanding of the conducting polymer nanostructures and their junctions with carbon nanotubes, results from the proposed studies could open up new possibilities for fabricating novel integrated circuits and electronics, for example, through 3-dimensional integration and/or by chemically-induced switching memory devices. In addition, the use of conducting polymer nanostructures for sensing and controlled release applications will also be demonstrated.
