Abstract
In this paper, we report a one-step method to obtain conductive polypyrrole thin films on flexible substrates. To do this, substrates were modified through allylamine plasma grafting to create a high amount of reactive amine groups on PDMS surface. These groups are used during polypyrrole particle synthesis as anchoring points to immobilize the polymeric chains on the substrate during polymerization. Surface morphology of polypyrrole thin films are modified, tailoring the polyelectrolyte used in the polypyrrole synthesis obtaining different shapes of nanoparticles that conform to the film. Depending on the polyelectrolyte molecular weight, the shape of polypyrrole particles go from globular (500 nm diameter) to a more constructed and elongated shape. The films obtained with this methodology reflected great stability under simple bending as well as good conductivity values (between 2.2 ± 0.7 S/m to 5.6 ± 0.2 S/cm).
Highlights
Considering the importance of electronic devices nowadays, is undeniable that providing new properties to electronic materials would open the door to new devices with a high impact in our lives
PDMS substrates were functionalized with amine groups through plasma enhanced vapor deposition (PECVD) allylamine
PDMS substrates were functionalized with amine groups through PECVD allylamine grafting
Summary
Considering the importance of electronic devices nowadays, is undeniable that providing new properties to electronic materials would open the door to new devices with a high impact in our lives. The development of electronic materials that avoid the stiffness of silicon and aim to enhance flexibility and stretchability of electronic devices has experienced an increasing interest in recent years, expanding the range of applications [1,2,3]. An example of this can be found in smart textiles [4,5,6], electronic skin [7,8,9], wearable devices for medical diagnosis [10,11], bioelectronic implants [12,13] or soft robotics [14]—among others. Considerable efforts have been made, current strategies to provide flexibility to CPs do not fulfill the requirements of the expected applications, especially in the biomedical field, or are not suitable for industrial scale up
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