Facile mass production of semi-conductive polypyrrole/polystyrene composite with enhanced mechanical strength via in-situ bulk polymerization

Abstract

A facile approach for mass production of polypyrrole/polystyrene (PPy/PS) semi-conductive composite was developed via the in-situ radical bulk polymerization of styrene in the presence of the styrenesulfonate (SS) doped polypyrrole (PPy-SS) microrods, which were synthesized via chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole with SS as both dopant and template. Its mechanical properties were much better than polystyrene because of the excellent interfaces between the PPy microrods and the polystyrene matrix. Polystyrene grafted PPy micro-gels (PPy-PS) formed during the in-situ polymerization were found in the SEM analysis, which might be the main reason for the improved mechanical properties.