Effect of process parameters on the electropolymerization potential and rate of formation of polypyrrole on stainless steel

Polypyrrole coatings were formed on stainless steel working electrodes in aqueous oxalic acid solution. The rate of formation of polypyrrole coatings on stainless steel increased proportionately with the current density but increased slightly with increased pyrrole concentration. Increasing oxalic acid concentration also had no significant change in the polymerization rate. The electropolymerization potential of pyrrole decreased significantly from 1.5 to 0.8 V versus SCE when the working electrode was polished. The polymerization potential, E_p, of pyrrole, increased however, with increased current density and decreased exponentially with the initial monomer and electrolyte concentration, respectively. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 2433–2440, 1997     

Fabrication and characterization of multilayer SiO2/polymethacrylic acid/polypyrrole composites and hollow polypyrrole microspheres

Methacrylic acid was polymerized on the 3‐(methacryloxy)propyl trimethoxysilane‐modified silica core. The carboxylic acid groups of polymethacrylic acid (PMAA) not only provide the “active‐sites” for growth of the pyrrole monomers but also act as doping acids for polypyrrole (PPy). By in situ polymerization route, SiO₂/PMAA/PPy multilayer composites and hollow PPy microspheres with controllable shell thickness were fabricated. The morphologies, sizes, and structures of the nanocomposites were investigated in detail by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier‐transform infrared spectra, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Mechanical,thermal, and microwave properties of conducting composites of polypyrrole/polypyrrole‐coated short nylon fibers with acrylonitrile butadiene rubber

Pyrrole was polymerized in the presence of anhydrous ferric chloride as oxidant and p‐toluene sulfonic acid as dopant. Polypyrrole‐coated short nylon fibers were prepared by polymerizing pyrrole in the presence of short nylon fibers. The resultant polypyrrole (PPy) and PPy‐coated nylon fiber (F‐PPy) were then used to prepare rubber composites based on acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR). The cure pattern, direct current (DC) conductivity, mechanical properties, morphology, thermal degradation parameters, and microwave characteristics of the resulting composites were studied. PPy retarded the cure reaction while F‐PPy accelerated the cure reaction. Compared to PPy, F‐PPy was found to be more effective in enhancing the DC conductivity of NBR. The tensile strength and modulus values increased on adding PPy and F‐PPy to NBR, suggesting a reinforcement effect. Incorporation of PPy and F‐PPy improved the thermal stability of NBR. The absolute value of the dielectric permittivity, alternating current (AC) conductivity, and absorption coefficient of the conducting composites prepared were found to be much greater than the gum vulcanizate. PPy and F‐PPy were found to decrease the dielectric heating coefficient and skin depth significantly. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐3‐thienyl‐methylmethacrylate) based working electrodes for hydrogen peroxide biosensing

BACKGROUND: Hydrogen peroxide biosensors based on Poly(glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐3‐thienylmethylmethacrylate)/ Polypyrrole [Poly(GMA‐co‐MTM)/PPy] composite film were reported. Poly(GMA‐co‐MTM) including various amounts of GMA and MTM monomers was synthesized via the radical polymerization. Enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was trapped in Poly(GMA‐co‐MTM)/PPy composites during the electropolymerization reaction between pyrrole and thiophene groups of MTM monomer, and chemically bonded via the epoxy groups of GMA. Analytical parameters of the fabricated electrodes were calculated and are discussed in terms of film electroactivity and mass transfer conditions of the composite films. RESULTS: The amount of electroactive HRP was found to be 1.25, 0.34 and 0.213 µg for the working electrodes of Poly(GMA_30%‐ co‐MTM_70%)/PPy/HRP, Poly(GMA_85%‐co‐MTM_15%)/PPy/HRP and Poly(GMA_90%‐co‐MTM_10%)/PPy/HRP, respectively. Optimal response of the fabricated electrodes was obtained at pH 7 and an operational potential of ? 0.35 V. It was observed that effective enzyme immobilization and electroactivity of the composite films could be changed by changing the ratios of GMA and MTM fractions of Poly(GMA‐co‐MTM) based working electrodes. CONCLUSION: The amount of electroactive enzyme increases with increasing MTM content of the final copolymer. High operational stabilities of the biosensors can be attributed to the strong covalent enzyme linkage via the epoxy groups of GMA due to preventing enzyme deterioration and loss. A more convenient microenvironment for mass transfer was provided for the electrodes by higher GMA ratios. It is observed that mass transfer is dominated by the mechanism of electron transfer to obtain effective sensitivity values. This work contributes to discussions clarifying the problems regarding the design parameters of biosensors. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fabrication and characterization of silica/polypyrrole nanocomposites using silica sulfuric acid as templates

The sunflower‐like silica core‐polypyrrole (PPy) shell nanocomposites were prepared by using silica sulfuric acid as templates. The silica sulfuric acid was obtained by treating directly the silica nanoparticles with chlorosulfonic acid. The sulfonic groups (? SO₃H) on the surface of silica sulfuric acid not only offered the active sites for formation of polypyrrole particles but also acted as dopant agents in PPy. The nanostructures of sunflower‐like silica/PPy nanocomposites and hollow PPy capsules were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The molecular structure and content of PPy were determined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The highest conductivity of nanocomposites is 2.4 S/cm. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Preparation and Characterization of Polypyrrole Silver Nanocomposites via Interfacial Polymerization

Conducting polypyrrole silver (Ppy-AgNC) nanocomposite was synthesized by an interfacial polymerization method. Ag⁺ ions from the AgNO₃ solution were taken in the formation of Ppy-AgNC. The incorporated silver was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). During the polymerization in a nitrate ion-containing solution, the impregnation leads to the formation of metallic silver. The size distribution of Ag into the polymer is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and proves the formation of a uniform species with spherical particles of Ag (mean diameter of 8-12 nm) branching at the border of Ppy. The thermal behavior of the material was studied by thermogravimetric measurements.     

Low Temperature Hall Effect Investigation of Conducting Polymer-Carbon Nanotubes Composite Network

Polypyrrole (PPy) and polypyrrole-carboxylic functionalized multi wall carbon nanotube composites (PPy/f-MWCNT) were synthesized by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole on the carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The structure of the resulting complex nanotubes was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effects of f-MWCNT concentration on the electrical properties of the resulting composites were studied at temperatures between 100 K and 300 K. The Hall mobility and Hall coefficient of PPy and PPy/f-MWCNT composite samples with different concentrations of f-MWCNT were measured using the van der Pauw technique. The mobility decreased slightly with increasing temperature, while the conductivity was dominated by the gradually increasing carrier density.     

Spontaneous and Electrochemical Reduction of Silver by Polypyrrole Deposits

Abstract

Polypyrrole (ppy) coatings doped with p-toluene sulfonate sodium on stainless steel mesh (SSM) have been electrosynthesized in aqueous solution. The removal of Ag⁺ ions from acidic solutions was investigated through spontaneous reduction (SR) and electrochemical reduction (ER) procedures using reduced composite ppy-SSM. Higher removal efficiencies and current efficiencies were obtained by ER process for ppy-SSM rather than SR process for ppy-SSM and ER process for SSM under comparable conditions. Due to its high efficiency and simplicity, ER was supposed to be an alternative advantageous method for the recovery of low-level silver concentration in industrial wastewater. Cyclic voltammetry was carried out to characterize the electrochemical behavior of ppy-SSM in acid solutions containing Ag⁺. Metallic silver deposited on ppy-SSM has been evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis.     

A Novel Micro Ring Structured PPy/pTS Free Standing Film With Improved Actuation Stability

A free-standing PPy/pTS film with a novel micro ring structured surface morphology have been electropolymerized by using CTAB/SDBS catanionic vesicles as templates. Characterizations showed that the micro ring structured PPy/pTS film was chemically similar to typical PPy/pTS films, while some DBS anions were also incorporated into the film from the mixed surfactants solutions. The micro ring structured PPy/pTS showed a slightly lower conductivity than conventional PPy/pTS films, due to the incorporation of DBS anions. The micro ring structured PPy/pTS films showed improved actuation stability compared to the conventional PPy/pTS films.     

Conductivity and atmospheric aging studies of polypyrrole-coated cotton fabrics

Polypyrrole (PPy) is one of the preferred alternatives among the intrinsically conductive polymers (ICPs). In this study, PPy-coated cotton (PPy-CT) fabrics were synthesized by two step in situ chemical polymerization. The reaction parameters, such as monomer concentration and temperature, were studied in detail. The surface resistivity of PPy-CT fabrics ranged ∼ 15–5000 Ω⁻². To assess long-term usage potential, the atmospheric aging of conductivity characteristics of treated fabrics was monitored over a period of 6 months. It was found that the synthesis temperature had a significant impact on conductivity and atmospheric aging of PPy-CT fabrics. Furthermore, various sulfonic acid sodium salts added as external doping agents during polymerization also had a positive effect. The scanning electron microscopy revealed smoother morphology of sulfonic acid salt doped PPy coatings. The overall study addresses the durability aspect of PPy-CT fabrics in potential applications areas. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012