Styrene Sulfonic Acid Research Articles

Facile approach to produce water-dispersible conducting polyaniline powder

In this work, electrically conducting polyaniline (PAni) was obtained as a highly water-dispersible powder. The chemical aniline oxidative polymerization was conducted in the presence of poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) using ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) as oxidative agent. The effects of aniline concentration and Ani:APS molar ratio on the redispersion capability of PAni.PSS powders were investigated. The purified PAni.PSS powders were redispersed in water and evaluated by UV–vis spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The electrical conductivity was measured on the dried material by the four-point probe method. As-prepared dispersions were also evaluated for comparative analyses. Conducting PAni.PSS as a powder with remarkable dispersibility and stability in water was obtained using Ani:APS 4:1 and aniline concentration of 0.256 mol.L−1. This material presented electrical conductivity of 10-3 S. cm−1 and granular morphology. Nanoparticles were obtained after sonication in water for only 4 min, with reproducible results. This colloidal dispersion remained stable for at least two months. Further analyses of zeta potential and stability in alkaline medium revealed negatively charged particles without flocculation signs in alkaline pHs for 240 h. At lower aniline concentration (0.032 mol.L−1) particles with 10 nm were obtained, however, not adequate for typical filtration. At Ani:APS 1:1 molar ratio yielded larger particles with heterogeneous distribution and partial precipitation.

Piezoresistive sensitivity tuning using polyelectrolyte as interface linker in carbon based polymer composites

Poly (4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSSA) solution with Carbon nanofiber (CNF) were mixed in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer matrix to prepare series of PVDF/PSSA/CNF blend membrane. The results demonstrate improvement in the gauge factor and piezoresistive sensitivity, with increasing concentration of CNF, in presence of PSSA. The morphology of the composite membranes was examined by scanning electron microscopy. The phase shift from α to β was observed by the XRD patterns and DSC curves confirmed no change in the crystallinity of the membranes. The elasticity was observed to be increased in thin membranes of ∼0.2 mm thickness, with increase in PSSA content. The detailed investigation revealed that, the tuning of PSSA in carbon-based polymer composite achieved significant increase in gauge factor up to 5.07, attributed to good interfacial linking characteristic of PSSA. The developed CPNC membranes may find their applications in prosthetic limbs, biomedical instruments and other wearable devices as pressure sensors.

Enhanced hole selecting behavior of WO3 interlayers for efficient indoor organic photovoltaics with high fill-factor

To optimize the indoor performance of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) with minimized surface recombination, using the appropriate hole-collecting interlayer (HCI) is particularly important because the number of generated charges is much smaller than that under 1-sun condition. In this study, we developed efficient indoor OPVs based on a poly(3-hexylthiophene): indene-C60 bisadduct photoactive layer by incorporating solution-processed tungsten oxide (WO3) as the HCI. The performance of the developed OPVs was compared with that of reference OPVs employing a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene-sulfonic acid) (PEDOT: PSS) HCI. The new OPVs with WO3 HCIs exhibited an average power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.0% ± 0.3% under a 1000 lx light-emitting diode, which was slightly higher than the PCE of reference OPVs (12.7% ± 0.2%). The superior indoor performance of WO3 HCI-based OPVs can be attributed to their more effective hole-collecting and electron-blocking properties associated with the higher work function and lower electron affinity of WO3 when compared to PEDOT: PSS; these features result in an excellent fill factor (~75%) and a high open-circuit voltage (~0.71 V) for WO3 HCI-based OPVs. These results demonstrate that inexpensive low temperature-processed WO3 HCIs can be excellent candidates in OPVs for indoor applications.

Carbon anchored conducting polymer composite linkage for high performance water energy harvesters

Abstact Water energy harvesters have received significant attention, due to wide distribution of water, simple device fabrication, and environmentally-friendly nature. Herein, we report a reliable water energy harvester by employing a composite that consists of synthesized micron-sized carbon as physical anchor, poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA) as proton supplier, and polyacrylic acid/carboxymethyl cellulose (PAA/CMC) as network binder. Single energy harvester fabricated using slurry casting at low temperature shows electrical output performance with output voltage of 0.4 V and current of 0.45 μA. Especially, the material combination enables both chemical and physical linkage and in turn, reliable electricity production was demonstrated, showing stable performance over 14 days without output degradation. Furthermore, the power level of energy harvesters was simply extended to drive commercial light emitting diodes (LEDs). Consequently, this approach introduced here is well-suited for developing a device with excellent electrical, structural, and chemical properties and the composite combination greatly broadens material choices that can be applied to develop sustainable water energy harvesters.

Electro-responsive films containing voltage responsive gated mesoporous silica nanoparticles grafted onto PEDOT-based conducting polymer

The characteristics and electromechanical properties of conductive polymers together to their biocompatibility have boosted their application as a suitable tool in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. However, conducting polymers as drug release materials are far from being ideal. A possibility to overcome this drawback is to combine conducting polymers with on-command delivery particles with inherent high-loading capacity. In this scenario, we report here the preparation of conduction polymers containing gated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) loaded with a cargo that is delivered on command by electro-chemical stimuli increasing the potential use of conducting polymers as controlled delivery systems. MSNs are loaded with Rhodamine B (Rh B), anchored to the conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with poly[(4-styrenesulfonic acid)-co-(maleic acid)], functionalized with a bipyridinium derivative and pores are capped with heparin (P3) by electrostatic interactions. P3 releases the entrapped cargo after the application of −640 mV voltage versus the saturated calomel electrode (SCE). Pore opening in the nanoparticles and dye delivery is ascribed to both (i) the reduction of the grafted bipyridinium derivative and (ii) the polarization of the conducting polymer electrode to negative potentials that induce detachment of positively charged heparin from the surface of the nanoparticles. Biocompatibility and cargo release studies were carried out in HeLa cells cultures.

High indoor performance of flexible organic photovoltaics using polymer electrodes

Indoor organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have gained tremendous attention due to their unique optoelectronic properties under dim and spectrally-limited indoor light conditions. Moreover, their excellent flexible features make them more suitable for powering various indoor electronic devices than other photovoltaic systems. In this article, we demonstrate the indoor photovoltaic performance of poly(3-hexylthiophene):indene-C60 bisadduct-based flexible OPVs with polymeric electrodes in comparison with reference OPVs with indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. For the flexible OPVs, poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly (styrene-sulfonic acid)-based polymeric electrodes were demonstrated on a polyethylene naphthalate substrate with a polyvinyl alcohol buffer layer. The OPV with the polymeric electrode produced an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.1 ± 0.1%, whereas the reference device with the ITO electrode exhibited a PCE of 8.8 ± 0.1% under a 500-lx-light emitting diode condition. The flexible OPVs also exhibited superior flexibility over reference OPVs by retaining their PCE up to ~ 85% even after 500 bending cycles in air, whereas the reference OPVs declined to ~ 80% of their PCE under the same bending conditions.

Solvent treatment inducing ultralong cycle stability poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) fibers as binding‐free electrodes for supercapacitors

As one kind of conducting polymer composite, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) has been widely used as an electrode for energy storage and conversion devices because of its optical transmittance, flexibility, and high electrical conductivity etc. Here, we prepared binding-free PEDOT:PSS fibers (PFs) electrodes with high capacitive performance for supercapacitors via a facile method followed by various solvent treatments. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-treated electrodes displayed a better specific capacitance (Cs) of 202 F/g at 0.5 A/g with higher elongation at break, flexibility, and conductivity of 140.7 S/cm, compared to those of pristine PEDOT:PSS materials. More importantly, the DMSO-treated fibers possessed improved stability, which retained 105% of the initial Cs after 22 000 long cycles at 10 A/g. It is believed that the fabricated PFs will be promising organic electrodes for portable supercapacitors and other flexible electronic devices in the near future.

Flexible and Electroactive Textile Actuator Enabled by PEDOT:PSS/MOF-Derivative Electrode Ink.

Smart fabrics that integrate electronic devices with textiles are emerging as potential candidate for apparel and electronics industries. Soft actuators based on conducting polymers are promising for smart fabrics because of light weight, flexibility, and large deformation under low voltage. However, due to the distinct characteristics of textile and electronic components, the connection between textiles and electronic devices still keeps a challenge in development of smart fabrics. Here, we report an new strategy to prepare a flexible and electroactive textile actuator. The fabric electrolyte was directly coated with an electrode ink, which is composed of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) doped with carbonized carbon nanotubes wired zeolite imidazolate framework-8 composite. A pre-treatment of the fabric was made by soaking hydrophobic poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) to increase the ionic conductivity (6.72 mS cm–1) and prevent the electrode ink from penetrating through the fabric. It was found that the textile actuator could work in air stably under a low voltage of 3 V and operate at frequencies from 0.1 to 10 Hz with large strain difference (0.28% at 0.1 Hz), fast strain rate (2.8% s–1 at 10 Hz) and good blocking force (0.62 mN at 0.1 Hz). The key to high performance originates from high ionic conductivity of fabric electrolyte and large specific surface area, good mechanical properties of the metal-organic framework derivative-based composite electrodes, which present insights into preparing other smart fabrics such as textiles sensors, flexible displays, and textile energy storage devices.

Utilization of poly (4-styrenesulfonic acid) doped polyaniline as a hole transport layer of organic solar cell for indoor applications

The demand for low dimensional, micro powered and wireless indoor electronic devices has been increasing. To power-up those devices, organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells are being employed. The OPV cells exhibit good spectral matching and mechanical flexibility, and can harvest artificial indoor light energy efficiently. Hole transport layer (HTL) is an important component of an OPV cell. Water stable, low temperature processable poly (3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene): poly (4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) based HTL is commonly used in the indoor OPV cells. However, strongly acidic, highly hydrophilic and expensive PEDOT:PSS resulted in the development of cheaper, mildly acidic and less humidity sensitive alternative hole transport material (HTM) for the indoor OPV cells. Here, we utilized an economical and low acidic, water-stable PSS doped polyaniline (PANI) as HTM for a poly (3-hexylthiophene): [6, 6]-indene-C60 bisadduct (P3HT:ICBA) active material-based indoor OPV cell. The film formed by chemically synthesized PANI:PSS exhibited over 90% transmittance and approximately 5.15 eV work function value. The OPV device exhibited higher shunt resistance and greater power conversion efficiency (PCE) during the operation in an indoor environment. For 1000 Lux white LED light, the device showed around 10% PCE. Furthermore, the device exhibited better stability than PEDOT:PSS HTL based indoor OPV.

Sodium p-Styrene Sulfonate–1-Vinylimidazole Copolymers for Acid–Base Proton-Exchange Membranes

Binary copolymers possessing thermal stability up to 290°C and suitable for the formation of ion-exchange membranes have been obtained by free radical copolymerization of sodium p-styrene sulfonate and 1-vinylimidazole with subsequent conversion to the H-form. The composition and structure of the copolymers are confirmed by elemental analysis and IR and NMR spectroscopy. Multicomponent membranes based on the copolymers of sodium p-styrene sulfonate and 1-vinylimidazole have been obtained using poly(vinyl alcohol) crosslinked by oxalic acid as a film-forming agent. It is shown by scanning electron microscopy that the surface and cut of the membranes have a uniform structure. The specific electric conductivity of the membranes with different concentrations of styrene sulfonic acid (20 to 80 mol % in the copolymer) increases with an increase in the fraction of styrene sulfonic acid and is 29.5 to 52.0 mS cm−1 at 80°C. The activation energy of proton transport of the membranes is 12.5 to 15.5 kJ mol−1. The water uptake of the membranes decreases with the increase in the concentration of the basic (imidazole) component in them, which may be associated with the increase in the density of ionic crosslinking due to the acid–base interaction of the sulfo groups and pyridine nitrogen atoms of the imidazole cycle. The formation of acid–base pairs results in the formation of continuous proton transport channels in addition to the sulfonic acid channels, which is confirmed by the high values of specific electric conductivity even in the case of a decrease in the concentration of sulfostyrene in the composition of the membrane. Increasing the concentration of 1‑vinylimidazole in the composition of the copolymer from 20 to 80 mol % leads to an increase in the relative elongation at break from 3 to 6%, an increase in the tensile strength at break from 4 to 7 MPa, a decrease in the Young modulus of the membranes from 127 to 102 MPa, and a decrease in the water uptake from 45 to 15.

Fabrication and Photovoltaic Properties of Organic Solar Cell Based on Zinc Phthalocyanine

Herein, we report thin films’ characterizations and photovoltaic properties of an organic semiconductor zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc). To study the former, a 100 nm thick film of ZnPc is thermally deposited on quartz glass by using vacuum thermal evaporator at 1.5 × 10−6 mbar. Surface features of the ZnPc film are studied by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) with in situ energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and atomic force microscope (AFM) which reveal uniform film growth, grain sizes and shapes with slight random distribution of the grains. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies are carried out of the ZnPc thin films to measure its optical bandgap (1.55 eV and 3.08 eV) as well as to study chemical composition and bond-dynamics. To explore photovoltaic properties of ZnPc, an Ag/ZnPc/PEDOT:PSS/ITO cell is fabricated by spin coating a 20 nm thick film of hole transport layer (HTL)—poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS)—on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate followed by thermal evaporation of a 100 nm layer of ZnPc and 50 nm silver (Ag) electrode. Current-voltage (I-V) properties of the fabricated device are measured in dark as well as under illumination at standard testing conditions (STC), i.e., 300 K, 100 mW/cm2 and 1.5 AM global by using solar simulator. The key device parameters such as ideality factor (n), barrier height ( ϕ b ), junction/interfacial resistance (Rs) and forward current rectification of the device are measured in the dark which exhibit the formation of depletion region. The Ag/ZnPc/PEDOT:PSS/ITO device demonstrates good photovoltaic characteristics by offering 0.48 fill factor (FF) and 1.28 ± 0.05% power conversion efficiency (PCE), η.

Reproducible Dry Stamping Transfer of PEDOT:PSS Transparent Top Electrode for Flexible Semitransparent Metal Halide Perovskite Solar Cells.

A semitransparent flexible metal halide perovskite (MHP) solar cells were demonstrated by reproducible dry stamping transfer of a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS, PH1000) transparent flexible top electrode onto poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/indium tin oxide (ITO)/PEDOT:PSS (AI4083)/MHP/[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The reproducible transfer of the PEDOT:PSS top electrode was enabled by the modification of PEDOT:PSS with poly(ethylene imine) (PEI)/2-methoxyethanol (2-MEA) solution. In addition, the PEI/2-MEA modification to PEDOT:PSS resulted in improved conductivity and reduced work function of the top electrode. Therefore, we could fabricate highly efficient flexible semitransparent MHP solar cells with >13% (active area = 1 cm2) power conversion efficiency.

In-situ synthetic modified metal-organic framework (MZIF-8) as an interlayer of the composite membranes for ethanol dehydration

The Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received extensive attention in membrane field due to their higher porosity, tunable structure and pores size. However, the weak hydrothermal or chemical stability limits their application in the separation of liquid mixtures. Here, a stable modified ZIF-8 (MZIF-8) as an interlayer of the composite membranes was designed using poly (4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) to string together ZIF-8 nanoparticles. The membrane flux and separation factor increase with the increasing operation temperature, which echoes the higher active energy for permeation of water (EJ,W = 31.6 KJ/mol) than that of ethanol (EJ,E = 16.0 KJ/mol). Along with the decreasing ethanol feed concentration, the total flux increased from 0.81 kg/m2h to 4.47 kg/m2h while the separation factor decreased from 318 to 127. The selectivity of the polyamide/MZIF-8 (PA/MZIF-8) membranes for water-ethanol mixtures was found to be about five times higher than the ideal water-ethanol selectivity, demonstrating the ethanol permeance in membrane matrix was hindered by the preferential water adsorption of the PA/MZIF-8 membranes. The as-synthesized PA/MZIF-8 membranes not only exhibited excellent dehydrating performance for ethanol-water mixtures, but also operation stability under the higher temperature and acid conditions. Therefore, the PA/MZIF-8 membranes had great potential for industrial applications.

Internal and interfacial structure analysis of graft‐type fluorinated polymer electrolyte membranes by small‐angle X‐ray scattering in the high‐q range

AbstractThe hierarchical structures of poly(styrenesulfonic acid)‐grafted poly(ethylene‐co‐tetrafluoroethylene) polymer electrolyte membranes (ETFE‐PEMs) with different scale ranges including lamellar spacing, interfacial thickness, and intra‐structure of conducting layers were evaluated by small‐angle X‐ray scattering in terms of background scattering (I B(q)). First, I B(q) was roughly estimated by modifying Ruland's method and then optimized to avoid overestimation using a “contribution factor,” which is defined as the contribution of I B(q) to the observed scattering intensities over the entire q range. Then, I B(q) was optimized again by using the model for the deviation from Porod's law also proposed by Ruland to select proper q‐range for interfacial thickness evaluation. The lamellar spacing, which is observed in the low‐q range, was not altered by background correction. In contrast, in the high‐q range, the interfacial thickness and the internal structures can be estimated only after correction for the background scattering data. The interfacial thickness of the final membranes (ETFE‐PEMs) is affected by both the graft‐polymerization and sulfonation processes and because the change in membrane structures is observed during propagation steps at lower ion exchange capacity (IEC) range (IECs < 2.4 mmol/g), which should affect the mechanical strength of graft‐type PEMs.

Piezoelectric studies of PEDOT:PSS incorporated BaTiO3/ PDMS micro-generator

Different naturally occurring and wasted vibrational energy forms can be converted into electrical output with the help of proper Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems (PEHS). Even though there are many attractive features of piezoelectric materials like: high energy density, light weight, compactness, the one main disadvantage is low current density. In this work flexible piezoelectric micro-generators suitable for PEHS were made with simple, low cost hydrothermal method with BaTiO3/PDMS micro-composites. The ceramic polymer micro-composite was developed by mixing of Barium Titanate (BaTiO3) ceramic powder with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer in 4:1 wt ratio. The fabricated device is flexible, heat resistant and stretchable with good output voltages upon the application of vibrational energy. The short circuit current is found to be improved by incorporating 0.01 wt% of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly (styrenesulfonic acid)(PEDOT: PSS) to the BaTiO3/PDMS composite material. The Piezo electric characteristics of both materials are compared and the PEDOT: PSS incorporated material is found to have better output current density. The newly developed micro-generator has improved piezoelectric characteristics.

Effect of dopant concentration on polyaniline/poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid) composite for ammonia gas detection

Polyaniline (PANI)/poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid) (PSS) has been prepared for various molar ratios of hydrochloric acid (HCl) (1, 2, 3 and 4 M, respectively) through in situ chemical polymerization method. The reaction temperature was 25°C for 3 h. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum confirms the attachment of the structure to functional groups. The intensity of PANI is increased with increasing HCl concentration. Scanning electron microscopic graphs reveal the irregular morphology. The complex impedance of the PANI/PSS shows two distinguished semicircles and the diameter of the arcs decreased with an increase in ammonia concentration at room temperature. The sensitivity of the sensor increased with time, and the maximum sensitivity is 7.4 at 3 M of HCl for 500 ppm. The results are discussed and reported.

Poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid)/bacterial cellulose membranes: Electrochemical performance in a single-chamber microbial fuel cell

The present work aims at exploiting a polyelectrolyte nanocomposite based on poly(4-styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA) and bacterial cellulose (BC) as an eco-friendly proton-exchange membrane (PEM) for application in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The PSSA/BC-based PEM was confirmed as a true nanocomposite by inelastic neutron scattering (INS) vibrational spectroscopy. Moreover, this PEM exhibited thermal stability up to 155 °C, Young's modulus of 11.7 ± 0.9 GPa, ion exchange capacity of 1.85 mmol g−1, and maximum protonic conductivity of 1.73 S m−1. The application of the PSSA/BC nanocomposite membrane in a single-chamber lab-scale MFC with a pure culture of Shewanella frigidimarina yielded a maximum power density of 2.42 mW m−2, open circuit voltage of 0.436 V, and internal resistance of 15.1 kΩ. These results are superior to those obtained with a commercial Nafion® membrane and, thus, confirm the potential of this bio-based PSSA/BC nanocomposite as a PEM for MFCs.

Thermally stable graft-type polymer electrolyte membranes consisting based on poly (ether ether ketone) and crosslinked graft-polymers for fuel cell applications

The effect of crosslinking on the thermal stability of poly (styrenesulfonic acid)-grafted poly (ether ether ketone) polymer electrolyte membranes (PEEK-PEMs) was investigated in water at 120 °C. The radiation-induced graft polymerization of an ethyl 4-styrenesulfonate (ETSS) monomer onto PEEK substrates, with divinylbenzene (DVB) (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 wt.%) as a crosslinker, followed by hydrolysis, generated crosslinker-containing PEEK-PEMs (PEEK-×0.05, -×0.1, -×0.2, and -×0.5), because the crosslinker (up to 0.5 wt.%) did not cause any destructive effect on the on grafting and hydrolysis rates. As a result, grafting degrees of 100–114% and ion exchange capacities (IECs) of 2.2–2.7 mmol/g, respectively, were achieved. Increasing the DVB amounts (from 0 to 0.5 wt.%), the conductivity, and water uptakes decreased; the PEEK-×0.5 showed a conductivity of 0.10 S/cm and water uptake of 43%. This confirms the successful incorporation of crosslinking structures on the graft-polymers. The hydrothermal test involved the immersion of PEMs in water at 120 °C for 500 h. The no-crosslinked PEEK-PEMs with the same IEC (2.7 mmol/g) experienced a decreases in the weight and IEC to 84 and 68% levels from the initial values, respectively, while those of crosslinked PEEK-×0.05 almost maintained their initial values (100 and 96%, respectively). These results indicated that very small amounts of crosslinkers can decreases the conductivity and the water absorption tendency while increasing the hydrothermal stability at higher temperatures.

Hybrid Graphene/Conducting Polymer Strip Sensors for Sensitive and Selective Electrochemical Detection of Serotonin.

There is an urgent need for electrochemical sensor materials that exhibit electrochemically compliant properties while also retaining high durability under physiological conditions. Herein, we demonstrate a novel strip-style electrochemical sensor using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and poly(ethylene dioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT/PSS) nanocomposite films. The fabricated rGO–PEDOT/PSS sensor with and without nafion has shown an effective electrochemical response for both selectivity and sensitivity of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) neurotransmitter. The developed high-performance hybrid graphene/conducting polymer strip sensors are likely to find applications as chip electrochemical sensor devices for patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Anticoagulant Heparin Mimetics via RAFT Polymerization.

Heparin, a sulfated polysaccharide derived from animal sources, is the most commonly used parenteral anticoagulant drug, but it suffers from significant safety and supply issues. Herein, we describe the preparation of heparin mimetic homo- and copolymers via the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization in water of commercially available (non-carbohydrate) sulfonated and carboxylated monomers. The anticoagulant activities of the polymers were assessed by activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin clotting time (TCT), and for the more promising polymers, thrombin generation, antifactor Xa, and antifactor IIa assays. Sulfonated homopolymers studied herein displayed low cytotoxicity and significant anticoagulant activity in APTT, TCT, and thrombin generation assays. In addition, copolymers of sodium styrenesulfonate and acrylic acid [poly(SSS-co-AA)] displayed unprecedented antifactor IIa activity. This study demonstrates the potential of RAFT polymers as alternative anticoagulants for biomedical applications.