Fabrication of polypyrrole-based nanoelectrode arrays by colloidal lithography

This paper describes a novel technique to produce polypyrrole-based nanoelectrodes for electrochemical detection purpose. The fabrication process relies on the creation of patterned nanotemplates i.e., nanometric gold spots surrounded by an electrically insulating material (Si[O.sub.x]). From these templates, polypyrrole nanopillars are grown by classical electrochemical methods. Atomic force microscopy demonstrates that polypyrrole grows selectively inside the gold nanotemplates. The electrochemical characterization by cyclic voltammetry showed a sigmoidal-shaped voltammogram characterizing the typical nanoelectrode array behavior.