Preparation of conducting polymer composites: effects of porosity on electrical conductivity

To prepare conducting polymer composites, porous polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) particles with different specific surface areas were prepared by seeded emulsion polymerization and solvent extraction. The dried porous particles were imbibed with the oxidant solution and adsorbed pyrrole from a solution. The incorporation of pyrrole into the porous particles was achieved by chemical oxidative polymerization. The effects of various polymerization parameters on the electrical conductivity were systematically investigated. The important factors affecting conductivity were the porosity of the host polymer particles and the solvent polarizability. © 1998 SCI.