Preparation and Properties of Electrically Conducting Textiles by In Situ Polymerization of Poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene)

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was in situ polymerized on nylon 6, poly(ethylene tereph- thalate) (PET), and poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) fabrics using ferric p-toluenesulfonic acid (FepTS) and ferric chloride (FeCl3) as oxidants. The effect of the organic sol- vents used in the polymerization bath was investigated. Prepared PEDOT/nylon 6 composite fabrics have superior electrical conductivity (0.75 S/cm, in ethanol solvent) com- pared to those of the other PEDOT composite fabrics. In particular, after five cycles of polymerization, the electrical conductivity of the composite fabric reached about 2 S/cm. However, the nylon 6 fabric was damaged by EDOT radical cations and the strong acidity of FepTS during the polymer- ization process. It was concluded that PTT fabric, which has excellent elastic recovery and acid resistance, is a suitable substrate for in situ polymerization of PEDOT, because the PEDOT/PTT composite fabric was hardly damaged during the polymerization process and its electrical conductivity is comparatively good (0.36 S/cm, in butanol solvent). © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 1326 -1332, 2005

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