Conducting polymers obtained from quiescent and stirred solutions: Effects on the properties

Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene), poly(N‐methylpyrrole), and three‐layered systems made of alternated layers of such two conducting polymers have been prepared by agitating the generation solution through a magnetic bar at a stirring speed of 400 rpm. The influence of these controlled dynamic conditions on both the electrochemical behavior and the superficial morphology has been examined. Results indicate that the increase in transport rate of reactants slightly favors the generation of more polymer weight at equal charge consumed. Consequently, the thickness of the materials prepared under stirring increases considerably with respect to those obtained from quiescent solutions, systems prepared using short (100 s) and large (300 s) polymerization times changing from nanometric to submicrometric and from submicrometric to micrometric length‐scales, respectively. Moreover, the porosity of PNMPy and PEDOT films also increases upon agitation. Thus, quiescent solutions produce compact and cavernous morphologies, respectively, for these materials, whereas the PNMPy and PEDOT obtained from agitated solutions are globular and spongy, respectively. Finally, the electroactivity, electrochemical stability, and electrical conductivity of the materials obtained from stirred solutions have been found to be significantly higher than those of the polymers prepared using quiescent solutions. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:2121–2131, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Selective Coating of SnS on the Bio‐Inspired Moth‐Eye Patterned PEDOT:PSS Polymer Films

A new strategy for the selective coating of tin sulfide (SnS) on the surface of moth‐eye patterned (MEP) conducting polymer film is studied by considering the optical properties of the antireflective moth‐eye pattern and flexibility of polymer films. The semiconductor SnS is selectively coated on the surface of MEP microdomes of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene‐sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) film. The SnS coated MEP film is obtained by using pore selectively SnS thin layer functionalized polystyrene honeycomb‐patterned porous (HCP) film as a template. Aqueous PEDOT:PSS solution is poured on the SnS functionalized HCP films and detached for the fabrication of SnS coated MEP films. The films show a satisfactory photo‐responsive property under solar stimulated light illumination due to the antireflective MEP structure of PEDOT film and homogenous SnS coating on the surface of the conducting polymer.     

Electrosynthesis,characterization, and application of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) derivative with a chloromethyl functionality

Poly(2‐chloromethyl‐2,3‐dihydrothieno[3,4‐b][1,4]dioxine), a chloromethyl functionalized poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) derivative (PEDOT‐MeCl), was synthesized electrochemically via the potentiostatic polymerization of its monomer in dichloromethane solution containing suitable tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate, then it was used for the characterization of film properties and the fabrication of electrochemical sensor. The properties of the resulting PEDOT‐MeCl film were characterized by different methods such as cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared and ultraviolet–visible techniques, scanning electron microscope, and thermogravimetric analysis. The PEDOT‐MeCl film displayed a good reversible redox activity, remarkable capacitance properties, good thermal stability, rough, and porous structure, especially fluorescent spectra indicated that PEDOT‐MeCl was a blue‐emitter with maximum emission centered at 396 and 398 nm. Finally, the PEDOT‐MeCl film was employed for the fabrication of the sensing electrode, and dopamine was chosen as a model analyte for the application of the electrochemical sensor. Results indicated that the PEDOT‐MeCl film as sensing interface was feasible, and studies of these film properties were very beneficial for studying properties and applications of other poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) derivative films. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2660–2670, 2013     

Electrochemical immobilization of ascorbate oxidase in poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite films

Immobilization of ascorbate oxidase (AO) in poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composite films was achieved by one‐step electrochemical polymerization. The PEDOT/MWCNTs/AO modified electrode was fabricated by the entrapment of enzyme in conducting matrices during electrochemical polymerization. The PEDOT/MWCNTs modified electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The experimental results showed that the composite films exhibited better mechanical integrity, electrochemical activity, higher electronic and ionic conductivity, and larger redox capacitance compared with pure PEDOT films, which would be beneficial to the fabrication of PEDOT/MWCNTs/AO electrochemical biosensors. The scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that MWCNTs served as backbone for 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) electropolymerization. Furthermore, the resulting enzyme electrode could be used to determine L ‐ascorbic acid successfully, which demonstrated the good bioelectrochemical catalytic activity of the immobilized AO. The results indicated that the PEDOT/MWCNTs composite are a good candidate material for the immobilization of AO in the fabrication of enzyme‐based biosensor. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Application of electrochemically produced and oxidized poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) as anticorrosive additive for paints: Influence of the doping level

This work investigates the resistance against marine corrosion of an epoxy‐based coating modified by the addition of electrochemically produced and oxidized poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). For this purpose, electrodeposition of PEDOT was performed on steel electrodes by electrochemical polymerization of 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene. The doping level of the resulting material was increased by chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry (CP), three different oxidation degrees being achieved. The electrochemical and electrical properties of such three samples, which were used as anticorrosive additives, were examined. Furthermore, the physical properties of the coating before and after addition of the conducting polymers were characterized using FTIR, thermal analyses, and mechanical properties evaluations. Accelerated corrosion tests indicated that the polymer with the highest amount of positive charge per monomeric unit, which was achieved by CP, enhances considerably the anticorrosive protection imparted by the coating. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 1592–1599, 2006     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(lactic acid) nanofibres by electrospinning

The poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) family of polymers is a technologically important class of conducting polymers showing high stability, medium band gap, low redox potential and high optical transparency in the electrically conductive state. While PEDOT nanotubes and nanofibres have been synthesized electrochemically, significant opportunity exists for developing a convenient chemical synthetic route for the bulk synthesis of nanostructured PEDOT for potential use in the design of next‐generation nano‐electronic circuits and field emission devices. In this paper, chemical oxidative polymerization was used to synthesize PEDOT nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were co‐electrospun with poly(l ‐lactic acid) from a solution in acetone and N,N‐dimethylformamide. The PEDOT particles were analysed using attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and particle size distribution using dynamic light scattering. The synthesized nanofibre mats were studied using differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy, and conductivity was measured using a two‐probe conductivity tester. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Electro‐synthesized PEDOT/glutamate chemically modified electrode: a combination of electrical and biocompatible features

BACKGROUND: Neural prosthetic devices have been developed that can facilitate the stimulation and recording of electrical activity when implanted in the central nervous system. The key parts of the devices are metal (gold) electrodes; however, surface modification of the gold electrode is desired. Conducting polymers are promising candidates for this purpose. RESULTS: A conducting polymer, poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), was electro‐polymerized onto gold electrodes with a neural transmitter of glutamate (Glu) as dopant. A protocol of ion exchange was employed due to the difficulty of direct incorporation of Glu into PEDOT. Sodium p‐toluenesulfonate (TSNa) was chosen as the first dopant and subsequent incorporation of Glu was accomplished via ion exchange. The electrochemical properties of the resultant PEDOT/Glu were studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The purpose of incorporating Glu was to improve the biocompatibility of the coated electrode. The PEDOT/Glu‐coated electrode showed better cell attachment compared with a PEDOT/TSNa‐coated electrode in in vitro cell culture of PC12. The stability of PEDOT was studied by immersing the coated electrode in a biologically relevant reducing agent of glutathione. CONCLUSION: The charge capacity of the coated electrode had an initial slight decrease and then remained unchanged. Good electro‐activity was conserved, indicating the superior stability of PEDOT in the biological environment. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

New carbon nanotube–conducting polymer composite electrodes for drug delivery applications

A novel drug delivery system (DDS) based on a carbon nanotube (CNT)–poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) composite was constructed via a layering method. Single‐walled CNTs (SWNTs) were immobilized on a gold electrode using a layer‐by‐layer technique. In particular, cysteamine (Cys) was firstly bonded to the gold surface through the strong S? Au association and SWNTs were subsequently linked onto the Cys layer through condensation reaction of ? NH₂ and carboxyl groups by 1‐ethyl‐3‐(3‐dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide/N‐hydroxysuccinimide coupling. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy demonstrate that this is a facile route for immobilizing CNTs on gold electrodes. Finally PEDOT was electropolymerized on the SWNT‐functionalized electrode to make a SWNT–PEDOT composite, and the modified electrode was applied as a DDS. Dexamethasone, as a model drug, was incorporated into PEDOT in the electropolymerization. Investigations of the electrochemical properties of SWNT–PEDOT demonstrate that SWNTs greatly improve the conductivity and increase the charge capacity of PEDOT. The composite exhibits a petal‐like surface structure, 20–30 nm thick and 100–200 nm wide. Compared to a DDS based on pure PEDOT synthesized under the same conditions, SWNT–PEDOT has the merits of higher drug release rate and larger release amount. The average mass release for every five voltammetry cycles increases from 1.4126 to 1.8864 mg cm^?2. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fabrication of flexible transparent electrodes using PEDOT:PSS and application to resistive touch screen panels

The flexible transparent electrodes were fabricated by line patterning of conductive inks consisting of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(4‐styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) water dispersion, ethylene glycol, isopropyl alcohol, and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films. The values of sheet resistance (R_s), total light transmittance, haze, figure‐of‐merit, and pencil hardness of the PEDOT:PSS‐TEOS/PET film were found to be 301 Ω/sq., 85.0%, 2.4%, 41, and 2H, respectively. Furthermore, a resistive touch screen panel was fabricated using the PEDOT:PSS‐TEOS/PET film as the top electrode. It was found that the drawing on the resistive touch screen panel was successfully displayed on the PC screen with good in‐plane uniformity and maximum linearity of 0.8%. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45972.     

Flexible polymer‐multiwall carbon nanotubes composite developed by in situ polymerization technique

Mechanically robust and flexible polymer‐multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) composites are developed by in situ polymerization technique, where MWCNT are embedded in nontoxic, bio‐compatible acryl amide‐based polymer matrix. The addition of glycerol in the composite imparts required flexibility and a further addition of poly (3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) shows significant improvements in tensile modulus, strength, and toughness compared to the polymer matrix. The composite is characterized by Scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy Attenuated total reflectance Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy. At optimized conditions; the composite forms a heterojunction diode with n‐Silicon having an electronic rectification ratio of 2.11 at ±1 V and a further addition of conducting polymer PEDOT: PSS in the composite enhances the electronic current rectification to 13.63 at ±1 V, with the turn on voltage of the device at 0.35 V. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:2860–2870, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Feasibility of conducting semi‐interpenetrating networks based on a poly(ethylene oxide) network and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) in actuator design

A new type of synthetic pathway—the use of interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs)—is proposed to design conducting polymer‐based actuators. Two types of materials with interesting conducting properties were prepared: (1) a semi‐IPN between poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and branched poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) network; (2) a tricomponent IPN between PEDOT and a PEO/polycarbonate (PC)–based network as the ionic conducting partner. In the first case, the influence of the amount of branching in the PEO network on the EDOT uptake and electrochemical properties was studied. A maximum conductivity (15 S cm^?1) was obtained for 60 wt % branched PEO in the material. Moreover, the dispersion profile of PEDOT in the material was shown by elemental analysis and energy dispersion spectroscopy to follow a gradient through the thickness of the film leading to a built‐in three‐layered device. With respect to PEO/PC materials, the best results were obtained for about 80 wt % PEO in the matrix where the material remains sufficiently elastomeric. In this case, the conductivity reaches about 1 S cm^?1 for a 10 to 30 wt % polycarbonate content. These materials are capable of reversible 45° angular deflections under a 0.5V potential difference. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 3569–3577, 2003     

Preparation and morphology of electroconductive PEDOT/PSS/ATO nanocomposite microsphere

Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate)/antimony‐doped tin oxide (PEDOT/PSS/ATO) nanocomposite microspheres with the size range from 10 to 50 µm have been prepared by a solution mixing and self‐assembling method in the presence of ammonium persulfate. The transparent PEDOT/PSS/ATO nanocomposites were prepared by dispersing the aqueous ATO suspension in PEDOT/PSS ethanol solution. Two types of acicular‐shaped ATO (ATO‐A) with average diameter of 20 and 50 nm, and two types of spherical‐shaped ATO (ATO‐S) with average particle sizes of 20 and 50 nm were selected. To measure the electrical resistivity of prepared nanocomposites, the transparent suspensions were coated onto polyethylene terephthalate film a dry thickness of about 50 µm. The nanocomposites containing ATO‐S with diameter of 50 nm exhibited lowest electrical resistivity than other nanocomposites. The effects of the ATO loading on the morphology, porosity, and thermal stability of the prepared microspheres were also investigated. From the scanning electron microscopy, the morphology of PEDOT/PSS/ATO‐S suspensions develops a cauliflower structure with many recesses in it whereas PEDOT/PSS/ATO‐A shows a porous nanofibrous structure composed of PEDOT/PSS aggregates and ATO‐A fibrils. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1352–1364, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Electroconductive paper prepared by coating with blends of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(4‐styrenesulfonate) and organic solvents

Electroconductive papers were produced by coating commercial base papers with blends of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(4‐styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and organic solvents. The bulk conductivities of the coated papers were measured using a four‐probe technique. One‐sided and two‐sided coating gave comparable conductivity levels. The presence of sorbitol and isopropanol in the PEDOT:PSS blends did not enhance the bulk conductivity of the coated paper, and with increasing concentrations of these solvents, the conductivity decreased due to dilution of the conducting component. Samples coated with PEDOT:PSS blends containing N‐methylpyrrolidone (NMP) or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) exhibited a higher conductivity than those coated with pure PEDOT:PSS because of their plasticizing effect and conformational changes of PEDOT molecules indicated by the red shift and disappearance of the shoulder peak at about 1442 cm^?1 in the Raman spectra of the coated samples. EDS imaging showed that PEDOT:PSS is distributed throughout the thickness direction of the paper. Contact angle measurements were made to monitor the hydrophilicity of the paper surface and total sulfur analysis was used to determine the amount of PEDOT:PSS deposited onto the paper. The tensile strength of all the paper samples increased slightly after treatment. Thus, it is demonstrated that enhanced bulk conductivity in the order of 10^?3 S/cm can be achieved by using organic conductive materials and surface treatment techniques. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Effects of alcoholic solvents on the conductivity of tosylate‐doped poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT‐OTs)

The effects of alcoholic solvents on the charge transport properties of tosylate‐doped poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT‐OTs) are investigated. The use of different alcoholic solvents in the oxidative chemical polymerization of 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) with iron(III)‐p‐tosylate led to a change in the electrical conductivity of PEDOT‐OTs. For example, PEDOT‐OTs prepared from methanol shows a conductivity of 20.1 S cm^?1 which is enhanced by a factor of 200 as compared to PEDOT‐OTs prepared from hexanol. The variation of charge transport properties on the use of different alcoholic solvents is consistent with the data recorded by UV‐visible and electrospin resonance (ESR) measurements. From XPS experiments, the PEDOT‐OTs samples prepared from different alcoholic solvents were found to have almost the same doping level, suggesting that the number of charge carriers is not responsible for the change in conductivity. Supported by XRD results, it was found that the use of alcoholic solvents with shorter chain length induces more efficient packing of PEDOT chains. It is proposed that the alcoholic solvents associated with the counter ion of PEDOT via hydrogen bonding give rise to a change in the molecular ordering of PEDOT chains during the polymerization step, hence enhancing or depressing the inter‐chain hopping rate of the resulting PEDOT‐OTs. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Generating Power Enhancement of Flexible PVDF Generator by Incorporation of CNTs and Surface Treatment of PEDOT:PSS Electrodes

Two approaches are proposed for enhancing the generating power of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flexible generator by incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and ethylene glycol (EG) treatment of the poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) electrodes. By incorporating CNTs into the PVDF polymer, higher portion of β‐phase PVDF can be obtained, which shows higher piezoelectricity resulting in higher electric charge generating performance. Higher conductivity is also obtained by surface treatment of the PEDOT:PSS electrodes using EG solvent due to the removal of excess PSS in the electrodes. Highly conductive electrode makes effective mobility of charges generated from the CNT/PVDF film, resulting in higher generating performance. Consequently, higher generating performance can be achieved by collaborating the above two approaches.     

High cycling stability and well printability poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)/multi‐walled carbon nanotube nanocomposites via in situ polymerization applied on electrochromic display

A high cycling stability material and an additive manufacturing method are reported for the fabrication of solid electrochromic devices. The poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)/multi‐walled carbon nanotube (PEDOT:PSS/MWCNT) nanocomposites were synthesized via in situ polymerization. A carboxymethyl cellulose gel was used as the ink vehicle for screen printing. The electrochromic (EC) performance of films patterned by screen printing was also examined. The results of characterization indicate that strong interfacial interactions occurred between PEDOT:PSS and the MWCNTs and the MWCNTs formed a network in these conducting polymers film, so the composite was more conductive than pure PEDOT:PSS. Devices containing PEDOT:PSS/MWCNTs were more stable after 1000 cycles, exhibited higher rate of ion exchange and faster increases in current. The composite containing 0.3 wt % MWCNTs also had a 23% higher color contrast (ΔE*) than pure PEDOT:PSS at 2.5 V applied voltages. The EC inks with well printability not only can be used to print large area films, but also can print fine lines and pixel‐type dots in displays. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45943.     

Electromagnetic interference shielding properties of PEDOT/PSS–halloysite nanotube (HNTs) hybrid films

Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(4‐styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) films hybridized with halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were for the first time investigated for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. The hybridization of the HNTs induced EMI properties for the pristine PEDOT/PSS films, and the content of the HNTs in the hybrid films significantly influenced the EMI properties of the hybrid films. The highest EMI shielding effectiveness of the hybrid film is ?16.3 dB in the measured frequency range from 2 to 13 GHz for the PEDOT/PSS film hybridized with 75% HNTs, using a sample with 4.5 mm thick. The contribution of EMI shielding effectiveness in the hybrid films is mainly due to dielectric loss rather than magnetic loss. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44242.     

Activity and long-term stability of PEDOT as Pt catalyst support for the DMFC anode

The feasibility of using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) as Pt catalyst support for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) anodes was investigated. Measurements with freshly prepared Pt-PEDOT/C electrodes showed poor activity for methanol oxidation in a half-cell and a DMFC. A substantial enhancement in that activity was evident after either electrochemical over-oxidation of PEDOT or long-time storage of the Pt-PEDOT/C gas diffusion electrode (GDE) in air. Both procedures led to a reorganization and increase in porosity of the reaction layer, which obviously contributed to better methanol accessibility to Pt catalyst active centres. The effects of electrochemical activation and long-time storage in air on the morphology and elementary composition of the Pt-PEDOT layer were investigated by means of Hg porosimetry and SEM/EDAX. It was found that the increase in porosity was due to degradation of PEDOT characterized by a significant depletion of sulphur and oxygen in the conducting polymer matrix.     

Binder‐free porous PEDOT electrodes for flexible supercapacitors

Conducting polymers are attractive for potential applications in flexible electronic industries because of their unique advantages. To simplify the process of electrode preparation, porous poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) film electrodes without binder and conductive additive were synthesized facilely for flexible supercapacitors via an in situ solution micro polymerization at the surface of a soft etched tunnel aluminum (ETA) template at room temperature. The template was directly used as the current collector of electrodes. The morphologies of the samples and the template were compared using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the polymer molecular structure and composition were analyzed with Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Symmetric supercapacitors were assembled with the PEDOT electrodes, Celgard 2300 separator, and 1.0 M LiPF₆/EC+DMC+EMC (1 : 1 : 1 in volume) electrolyte. The electrochemical performance was evaluated using different techniques like galvanostatic charging/discharging tests, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results from different current densities and scanning rates show the supercapacitors have good rate performance. The specific capacitance, energy density, and coulombic efficiency of the PEDOT supercapacitor can reach 69.0 F g^?1 (or 103.0 F m^?2), 24.0 Wh kg^?1, and ～95% at a current density of 0.2 A g^?1, respectively. Furthermore, the PEDOT electrodes exhibit relatively good cycle performance, and the capacitance retention ratio is ～72% after 1500 cycles. The electrode process was discussed. The results are comparable to that of the reported PEDOT, which indicates the applicability of the novel simple method of solution microreaction at the surface of a soft metal template to directly prepare binder‐free flexible electrodes. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42549.     

Preparation and characterization of graphene composites with conducting polymers

We report a new route for preparing electro‐conductive composites based on reduced graphene oxide (RG‐O) and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). The composites were prepared by in situ polymerization of EDOT in aqueous mixture containing RG‐O platelets modified with poly(sodium 4‐styrenesulfonate) (PSS). In the synthetic process, PSS molecules stabilize RG‐O in the aqueous phase and function as a polymerization template to hybridize PEDOT chains along RG‐O platelets. Compared with the RG‐O platelets, the resulting composites show an enhanced electrical conductivity of 9.2 S cm^?1 with good thermal stability. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry