Scalable production of ultrafine polyaniline fibres for tactile organic electrochemical transistors

Abstract

The development of continuous conducting polymer fibres is essential for applications ranging from advanced fibrous devices to frontier fabric electronics. The use of continuous conducting polymer fibres requires a small diameter to maximize their electroactive surface, microstructural orientation, and mechanical strength. However, regularly used wet spinning techniques have rarely achieved this goal due primarily to the insufficient slenderization of rapidly solidified conducting polymer molecules in poor solvents. Here we report a good solvent exchange strategy to wet spin the ultrafine polyaniline fibres. The slow diffusion between good solvents distinctly decreases the viscosity of protofibers, which undergo an impressive drawing ratio. The continuously collected polyaniline fibres have a previously unattained diameter below 5 µm, high energy and charge storage capacities, and favorable mechanical performance. We demonstrated an ultrathin all-solid organic electrochemical transistor based on ultrafine polyaniline fibres, which operated as a tactile sensor detecting pressure and friction forces at different levels.

Polyaniline-Based Biological and Chemical Sensors: Sensing Mechanism, Configuration Design, and Perspective

“…For this purpose, Tao et al fabricated an ultra-fine PANI fiber (UFPF) with high mechanical properties and charge storage capacity by solventexchange wet spinning. 147 As shown in Figure 5e, the UFPF was used to construct an all-solid OECT to amplify the tiny signals from the spatial dielectric distribution. The high on/off ratio (>10 3 ), relatively high transconductance, and low operating voltage (<1 V) manifested the advantages of this UFPF as an OECT.…”

Conducting Polymers for the Design of Tactile Sensors

“…In [ 54 ], the authors reported a solvent exchange strategy to prepare ultrafine PANI fibers (UFPFs). The obtained UFPFs had a small diameter below 5 µm, mechanical strength of 1080 ± 71 MPa, a high area capacitance above 1008 mF cm −2 , and a charge storage capacity of 5.25 × 10 4 mC cm −2 .…”

“…An ultrathin all-solid organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) with less than 1 V driving voltage was examined. It essentially amplified drain-source electrical signals with low power consumption and responded to vertical pressure and horizontal friction forces at different levels [ 54 ]. The all-solid OECT responded to mechanical deformation as a tactile sensor.…”

Recent Advances and Future Perspectives of Fiber-Shaped Batteries

“…Moreover, ionic conductive fibers can also be prepared using a continuous spinning strategy . Thus, wet spinning offers excellent prospects for industrial application. − …”