Synthesis of dioctyl sulfosuccinate‐doped polypyrrole grains by aqueous chemical oxidative polymerization and their use as light‐responsive liquid marble stabilizer

Abstract

Polypyrrole grains are synthesized by aqueous chemical oxidative polymerization using ferric chloride as an oxidant in the presence of bis(2‐ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium salt as both a dopant and a hydrophobizing agent. The resulting grain products are characterized in terms of their size, morphology, surface and bulk chemical compositions, hydrophilicity‐hydrophobicity balance, (photo) thermal property, and electrical conductivity. Scanning electron microscopy studies indicate that the grains are aggregates of atypical primary grains with submicrometer size. Elemental microanalysis and thermogravimetric analysis confirm that the polypyrrole is preferably doped with dioctyl sulfosuccinate compared with chloride ion, and dioctyl sulfosuccinate/chloride ion dopant ratio increases with an increase of bis(2‐ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium salt concentration in the polymerization systems. The grains show near‐infrared light‐to‐heat photothermal property, which is confirmed by thermography. The data obtained through X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate the presence of dioctyl sulfosuccinate dopants on the surface of the grains, and therefore the dried polypyrrole grains show hydrophobic character. The dried grains can work as a light‐responsive liquid marble (LM) stabilizer. Motions of the LM can be driven by near‐infrared laser irradiation‐induced Marangoni flow on planar air‐water surface. The release of internal liquid can be achieved by controlled disruption of the LM via external stimulus application.

Innovations in exploiting photo-controlled Marangoni flows for soft matter actuations

“…Further, they demonstrated the light-induced Marangoni-driven transport of marbles using different stabilizing hydrophobic particles such as polyaniline, 163 polypyrrole, 164,165 and poly( N -ethyl pyrrole). 164 In addition, they showed the transport with LMs having different core liquids such as water, glycerol, diiodomethane, and tetrabromoethane.…”

Colloidally Stable Polypyrrole Nanoparticles Synthesized by Surfactant-Free Coupling Polymerization

“…There have been a series of studies on the synthesis of the PPy in a form of colloidal particles. , The particles in a colloidal dimension have a large specific surface area, and it is possible to enhance surface-related functionalities. The application of such PPy nanoparticles extend to adsorbents, , particulate stabilizers for liquid marbles, − and synthetic mimics for cosmic dust and micrometeorites . To synthesize PPy particles, chemical oxidative dispersion polymerization and miniemulsion polymerization have been applied.…”

Liquid Marble as an Amphibious Carrier for the Controlled Delivery and Release of Substances

“…Droplets stabilized by solid particles covering their surfaces in gaseous environments are called liquid marbles (LMs) (Figure ). − LMs are generally (nearly) spherical and possess nonwetting and nonsticky characteristics that cannot be attained by bare liquid droplets. Based on LM technology, liquid can be handled as a soft solid.…”

“…(a) Diagram of a liquid marble (LM) and optical photographs of (b) a poly­(tetra­fluoro­ethylene) (PTFE) particle-stabilized LM placed on black paper and (c) a polypyrrole (PPy) particle-stabilized LM placed on a planar air–water surface. Reproduced with permission from ref . Copyright 2021 Wiley.…”