Polymerization of Solid-State 2,2′-Bithiophene Thin Film or Doped in Cellulose Paper Using DBD Plasma and Its Applications in Paper-Based Electronics

Abstract

In this work, we present a method to prepare a conductive paper hybrid based on the polymerization of bithiophene monomer directly from the solid state of 2,2-bithiophene inside a sheet of standard letter paper using atmospheric plasma since both the monomers and some plasma species, such as radicals, can penetrate into the paper. Polymerization of a 2,2-bithiophene in its solid form using plasma offers a simple and straightforward way to synthesize a conductive polymer. To understand the polymerization reaction in atmospheric plasma, the formation of polythiophene on substrates and the reaction mechanism were investigated with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy. The kinetics of the polymerization reaction was investigated using UV-vis and the rate of polymerization was found to be the second order reaction. The resulting polymer film exhibited a conductivity of 6.67 S/cm when I2 was doped in the film. The polymerization 3,3’-dibromo-2,2’-bithiophe...