Fabrication and electrochemical properties of polyvinyl alcohol/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) ultrafine fibers via electrospinning of EDOT monomers with subsequent in situ polymerization

Abstract

A novel method combining the electrospinning method and the polymerization in microreactor was introduced to prepare core–shell poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy thiophene) (PEDOT)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) ultrafine fibers. The O/W emulsion of EDOT/PVA was prepared with the help of sodium dodecylsulfate as the emulsifier and the method of introducing monomers into the electrospinning solution had rarely been reported. The emulsion electrospinning was employed to obtain beaded PVA fibers with EDOT encapsulated inside the beads. Some uniform fibers exhibited core–shell structure too. EDOT in the core of the fibers was then polymerized by chlorine, resulting in PEDOT/PVA composite fibers, and the shell of the electrospun fiber was indeed a new kind of microreactor. The corresponding electrochemical measurements demonstrated the electron transport properties of the PEDOT/PVA composite fibers film, which justified its potential application in sensors.