Preparation and properties of electrically conducting textiles by in situ polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)

Abstract

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was in situ polymerized on nylon 6, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) fabrics using ferric p-toluenesulfonic acid (FepTS) and ferric chloride (FeCl3) as oxidants. The effect of the organic solvents used in the polymerization bath was investigated. Prepared PEDOT/nylon 6 composite fabrics have superior electrical conductivity (0.75 S/cm, in ethanol solvent) compared 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 polymerization 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).