Enhanced Electrical Conductivity of Polythiophene and Polypyrrole Multi-Layer Coatings on PMMA Substrate with Carbon Nanotubes

Subject Areas : نانومواد و پلیمرهای هوشمند

Ali Akbar Yousefi ¹ (Department of Plastics,Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute)
Samira Fallahdoost Moghadam ² (Iran polymer and petrochemical institute)
Navid Naderpour ³ (Islamic Azad University)

Received: 2023-12-01 Accepted : 2024-05-16 Published : 2023-08-01

Keywords: Polythiophene, Polypyrrole, Carbon nanotubes, PMMA, Electrical conductivity,

Abstract :

In this study, we aimed to enhance the electrical conductivity of polymeric layers for potential applications in organic electronics such as sensors and capacitors. Electrically conductive polythiophene (PTh) and polypyrrole (PPy) layers were deposited on a poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) substrate using an in-situ chemical oxidative deposition method with FeCl3 as a catalyst and acetonitrile and deionized water as solvents. To further improve conductivity, multi-layer PTh and PPy, in the presence of carbon nanotubes (CNT), were applied on the PMMA substrate. The reaction times for synthesizing PTh and PPy were optimized to be 12 and 20 minutes, respectively, based on electrical properties. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to identify the different components of the conductive polymers on the PMMA substrate. The morphology and thickness of the layers were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrical conductivity of the layers was measured using a four-point probe device. The highest electrical conductivity of 100.93 S/cm was achieved for the two-layer poly pyrrole-polythiophene/CNT coating on the PMMA substrate. These findings demonstrate the potential of this multi-layer conductive coating for various organic electronic applications.