Application of polypyrrole to flexible substrates

Abstract

Conducting polymers such as polypyrrole may be useful in smart packaging products, provided application methods can be developed that circumvent the insolubility and infusibility of these materials. Experiments were conducted in five research areas relevant to the application of polypyrrole to nonrigid substrates. The studies reveal that application of polypyrrole from the liquid phase, either by deposition from depleted bulk solution or inkjet printing dispersions, is unlikely to give films as regular as those produced by vapor phase polymerization. Using the latter approach, two potential methods of applying patterned polypyrrole films to nonrigid substrates were developed. The first used hypochlorite to pattern a continuous film of polypyrrole, previously applied by vapor phase polymerization. The second used inkjet printing to apply an oxidant solution, whose pH had been raised with a volatile base, to nonrigid substrates. The higher pH reduced corrosion of the print head, increasing the lifetime of printers exposed to oxidative compounds. The base was subsequently evaporated by heating, and the dried oxidant used as a template for vapor phase polymerization of polypyrrole. This method gave smooth, shiny and adherent polypyrrole films on papers and polyester transparency, with high resolution.

Influence of the cellulose substrate on the electrochemical properties of paper-based polypyrrole electrode materials

“…To enable the manufacturing of conducting polymer layers on cellulose with varying thickness, layer-by-layer techniques have been proposed based on deposition from solutions containing oligomers [17,35], vapor polymerization [34,36] and deposition from polymer solutions in organic solvents [37]. However, to the best of our knowledge, the influence of the cellulose substrate on the electrochemical performance of the composites has not yet been systematically studied.…”

“…In situ polymerization of conducting polymers on cellulose can be carried out based on three main approaches involving (i) mixing or soaking the cellulose in a monomer solution followed by addition of the oxidant [18], (ii) soaking the cellulose in a solution of the oxidant followed by addition of monomer solution [33] and (iii) soaking of the cellulose in oxidant solution followed by addition of monomer from the vapor phase [34]. To enable the manufacturing of conducting polymer layers on cellulose with varying thickness, layer-by-layer techniques have been proposed based on deposition from solutions containing oligomers [17,35], vapor polymerization [34,36] and deposition from polymer solutions in organic solvents [37].…”

Controlled release of dyes from chemically polymerised conducting polymers

“…However, for many packaging applications where cost rather than quality is the principal driver, inkjet resolutions may be adequate. From the SEMs, it was clear that the PPydye was absorbed into the paper substrate with no evidence of a separate surface layer, whereas on PEDOT-coated PET, the PPy-dye layer had a porous appearance typical of PPy films applied by VPP [7]. Measurements on SEM cross-sections indicated that the PPy layer was 1.4-1.5 lm thick, while the PEDOT layer was thinner, at 0.4-0.5 lm.…”

“…The key advantage of chemical polymerisation is that it potentially allows the use of high-volume, reel-to-reel printing processes that reduce unit costs in industrial-scale production [6,7]. The greater simplicity of printing methods compared with electrochemical polymerisation could widen the range of economically feasible applications of dye release technology, perhaps even to the extent of allowing use in packaging products, which are notoriously cost-sensitive.…”

Polypyrrole (PPy) chemical synthesis with xylan in aqueous medium and production of highly conducting PPy/nanofibrillated cellulose films and coatings

“…10 illustrate that the deposition on non-absorbent surface (glass) led to conductivities quite an order of magnitude higher than those obtained on absorbent surface (copy paper). Indeed, the substrate topography and its chemical nature affect the coating drying mechanism and consequently its conductivity (Winther-Jensen et al 2007;Denneulin et al 2008). Smooth, nonabsorbent substrates led to the formation of homogeneous PPy/NFC films (Fig.…”