Conducting Polymer Hybrid Research Articles

Synergistic interaction and hybrid association of conducting polymer photocatalysts/photoelectrodes for emerging visible light active photocatalytic applications

This review emphasises the synergistic interaction in conducting polymer hybrids for boosted visible-light photocatalysis, focusing on enhancing optoelectronic properties.

Facile Construction of Three-Dimensional Architectures of a Nanostructured Polypyrrole on Carbon Nanotube Fibers and Their Effect on Supercapacitor Performance

Conducting polymer and carbon nanotube hybrids have been researched intensively in recent years for electrodes of fiber-shaped supercapacitors (FSSCs) toward flexible and wearable energy storage devices. Here, three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical polypyrrole (PPy)/carbon nanotube fiber (CNTF) architectures have been prepared by a facial electrodeposition method for flexible FSSC electrodes. PPy nanoparticles, vertically aligned nanowire arrays (VANAs), and nanowire networks were synthesized on CNTFs, respectively, to construct three types of 3D architectures by controlling the electrodeposition condition of PPy. The influence of the 3D architectures of PPy/CNTF electrodes on the performance of the assembled quasi-solid-state FSSCs has been carefully studied. The FSSCs with PPy VANAs showed a much higher specific capacitance than that with PPy nanoparticles because the hierarchical porous structure of PPy VANAs provides a higher accessibility of electrolytic ions and a higher Coulombic efficiency than that with the PPy nanowire network. The PPy VANA-/CNTF-based FSSCs displayed high flexibility, stability, and a specific capacitance of 178.14 F g–1 at 0.4 A g–1, which is much higher than that based on common PPy cauliflower-like film/CNTF electrodes (92.06 F g–1) and pure CNTF electrodes (8.48 F g–1) under the same conditions, demonstrating the great advantages of the 3D hierarchical structure.

Conducting Polymer Hybrids As Diagnostic Chemosensors

Polyaniline is a conducting polymer in which both redox and protonating/deprotonating conduction mechanisms are activated in the presence of gaseous compounds, making it a gas sensor. Resistive chemosensors based on PANI, in particular, have been well studied for their gas sensing properties and are considered important sensing materials for a wide range of applications as they operate at room temperature. There is, however, a novel class of polyaniline hybrids with cellulose acetate that may be suitable for detecting biomarkers emitted from the skin and in measuring the pH of breath condensate for diseases and thus, worth studying them further. This work is our perspective on the need of hybrid PANI-CA materials for use in detecting biomarkers emitted from the skin and in measuring the pH of breath condensate for diseases.

Wireless Dual Stimuli Actuation of Dye Sensitized Conducting Polymer Hybrids

AbstractActuators controlled by external stimuli have received a lot of attention in recent years. Herein a polymer based dual stimuli actuator is reported, triggered by light and an electric field. This allows better control of actuation, enlarging the field of potential applications, like, for example, in the frame of soft robotics. The actuator is composed of polypyrrole and TiO2 modified with methylene blue. In an aqueous solution, the resulting freestanding hybrid film shows reversible actuation due to the synergy of light and an applied electric field. Illumination with light produces electron‐hole pairs in the TiO2 layer, which are shuttled to the opposite ends of the actuator by the potential gradient present in the solution. This results in electrochemical oxidation and reduction reactions at the two extremities and consequently in site selective swelling of the polymer, which finally leads to a controlled motion of the actuator, following the principles of logic gate operations. Such synergistically induced switching allows developing original actuation schemes for performing complex mechanical tasks triggered by more than one stimulus.

High performance 2D MXene based conducting polymer hybrids: synthesis to emerging applications

This review highlights the recent advances in MXene-conducting polymer hybrids for wearable electronics (e.g., energy storage, pressure sensing, and EMI shielding, etc.). Furthermore, several future research trends have also been envisioned.

Hierarchically interconnected conducting polymer hybrid fiber with high specific capacitance for flexible fiber-shaped supercapacitor

Polypyrrole (PPy) based fiber-shaped supercapacitor (FSSC) is attracting increasing attention as energy storage devices of flexible and wearable electronic products in recent years. However, its application is limited by the low specific capacitance and poor rate capability, mainly suffering from inferior conductivity and inhibited ions channels of fiber electrode. Here, a high-performance flexible FSSC is constructed based on hierarchically interconnected porous poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/PPy composite fiber prepared by in situ chemical polymerization of pyrrole on a novel highly-conductive PEDOT:PSS hydrogel support. The good electronic and ionic conductor properties, hierarchically porous structure and π-π interaction of conducting polymer hybrid fiber ensure fast electrons transfer/ions diffusion and the efficient utilization of whole electrode. Benefiting from the well-designed hybrid architecture and synergistic effect, the PEDOT:PSS/PPy hybrid fiber in FSSC exhibits superb volumetric/areal/length specific capacitance (393.8 F cm−3, 770.6 mF cm−2 and 18.9 mF cm−1 at 2.0 A cm−3) and excellent rate performance (52.8% capacitance retention even at ultrahigh current density of 50 A cm−3). The FSSC device displays record-high energy density (8.3 mWh cm−3 or 16.2 μWh cm−2 at such a high power density of 389.1 mW cm−3 or 761.5 μW cm−2) compared to other previously-reported PPy based FSSCs, as well as long-term cycle stability and exceptional flexibility. The outstanding electrochemical and flexural performances of our PPy based FSSC are competent for portable and wearable electronics.

Spray coating of electrochemically exfoliated graphene/conducting polymer hybrid electrode for organic field effect transistor

We report the fabrication of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) via spray coating of electrochemically exfoliated graphene (EEG) and conducting polymer hybrid as electrodes. To reduce the roughness and sheet resistance of the EEG electrodes, subsequent coating of conducting polymer (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)) and acid treatment was performed. After that, active channel layer was developed by spin coating of semiconducting poly(3-hexylthiophene) on the hybrid electrodes to define the bottom gate bottom contact configuration. The OFET devices with the EEG/PEDOT:PSS hybrid electrodes showed a reasonable electrical performances (field effect mobility=0.15cm2V−1s−1, on/off current ratio=102, and threshold voltage=−1.57V). Furthermore, the flexible OFET devices based on the Polydimethlsiloxane (PDMS) substrate and ion gel dielectric layer exhibited higher electrical performances (field effect mobility=6.32cm2V−1s−1, on/off current ratio=103, and threshold voltage=−1.06V) and excellent electrical stability until 1000 cycles of bending test, which means that the hybrid electrode is applicable to various organic electronic devices, such as flexible OFETs, supercapacitors, organic sensors, and actuators.

Ultrahigh Volumetric Pseudocapacitance of Conducting Polymer Networks

High volumetric energy density is demanding for space-limited applications such as electric vehicles (EVs) and portable mobiles. Supercapacitors have better cyclic and power capabilities compared to batteries; they are still restricted by low volumetric capacity due to low density of active materials (< 0.75 g/cc of AC) and intrinsic non-Faradaic charge storage process. To resolve these challenges, we demonstrate ultrahigh volumetric capacitance of conducting polymer networks through the pseudocapacitance with significant durability. The charge storage mechanism of the as-designed conducting polymer hybrid networks for the exceptional volumetric pseudocapacitance was deeply investigated by in-situ ATR-FTIR spectroscopic and ex-situ XPS analyses. The results will inspire to architecture other organic hybrid networks in an analoguous manner for new energy storage materials and put forth new avenue for the design of high volumetric energy storage materials through the redox charge transfer.

Chemo-Electrical Gas Sensors Based on Conducting Polymer Hybrids.

Conducting polymer (CP) hybrids, which combine CPs with heterogeneous species, have shown strong potential as electrical transducers in chemosensors. The charge transport properties of CPs are based on chemical redox reactions and provide various chemo-electrical signal transduction mechanisms. Combining CPs with other functional materials has provided opportunities to tailor their major morphological and physicochemical properties, often resulting in enhanced sensing performance. The hybrids can provide an enlarged effective surface area for enhanced interaction and chemical specificity to target analytes via a new signal transduction mechanism. Here, we review a selection of important CPs, including polyaniline, polypyrrole, polythiophene and their derivatives, to fabricate versatile organic and inorganic hybrid materials and their chemo-electrical sensing performance. We focus on what benefits can be achieved through material hybridization in the sensing application. Moreover, state-of-the-art trends in technologies of CP hybrid sensors are discussed, as are limitations and challenges.

Design of electrically conducting polymer hybrid composites based on polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene

Interest to electrically conducting polymer composite materials in recent times has grown considerably, which is associated with the design of new branches of science and technology. The existing analogues are different in the complexity of production and high cost. One of the ways of solving the problem may be designing polymer composite materials with a combined filler. The research was carried out on creating electrically conducting hybrid polymer composites, based on emulsion polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene, using fillers of varying nature and dimensions. We studied the dependence of electrical conductivity of mono­ and binary­filled polymer composites on the type and content of fillers. It was found that the binary filling allows designing electrically conducting polymer composites, which are more promising economically compared to mono­filled ones. We defined physical and mechanical characteristics: tensile strength and relative elongation at break of obtained polymer composites. A method to improve them was proposed by introduction of a compatibilizer – graft­polymer of polyethylene with maleic anhydride. Depending on the value of the electrical conductivity, polymer hybrid composites can be used for: at a value of of elecrical conductivity 10 –4 –10 –7 Cm/cm as anti­static materials; at 10 1 –10 –4 Cm/cm – as scattering anti­static materials, at 10 1 – 10 4 Cm/cm as current­conducting materials.

Elaborate Chemical Sensors Based on Graphene/Conducting Polymer Hybrids

Owing to their unique and indispensable physical, chemical, electrical/ electronic, and mechanical properties, graphene and conducting polymers have become attractive materials in all fields of science and technology. This mini-review provides a comprehensive summary on the cutting-edge sensor technologies based on graphene/ conducting polymer hybrid materials. In this article, we briefly mention the preparations and characteristics of graphene and conducting polymers. In addition, the expected synergistic effects resulting from the combination of graphene and conducting polymers as sensing media are addressed. Subsequently, an extensive and succinct summary on the impressive chemical and biological sensors using graphene/conducting polymer hybrid materials will be covered. A short introduction to the emerging sensors using the elegant nanocomposites will also be described. Finally, perspectives and challenges of graphene/conducting polymer sensors are outlooked. It is obvious that this article is important for understanding the current sensor technologies and offers essential information to the researchers in diverse fields. Keywords: Conducting polymer, graphene, hybrid, sensor.

Highly Stable Supercapacitors with Conducting Polymer Core‐Shell Electrodes for Energy Storage Applications

Conducting polymers such as polyaniline (PAni) show a great potential as pseudocapacitor materials for electrochemical energy storage applications. Yet, the cycling instability of PAni resulting from structural alteration is a major hurdle to its commercial application. Here, the development of nanostructured PAni–RuO2 core–shell arrays as electrodes for highly stable pseudocapacitors with excellent energy storage performance is reported. A thin layer of RuO2 grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on PAni nanofibers plays a crucial role in stabilizing the PAni pseudocapacitors and improving their energy density. The pseudocapacitors, which are based on optimized PAni–RuO2 core–shell nanostructured electrodes, exhibit very high specific capacitance (710 F g−1 at 5 mV s−1) and power density (42.2 kW kg−1) at an energy density of 10 Wh kg−1. Furthermore, they exhibit remarkable capacitance retention of ≈88% after 10 000 cycles at very high current density of 20 A g−1, superior to that of pristine PAni‐based pseudocapacitors. This prominently enhanced electrochemical stability successfully demonstrates the buffering effect of ALD coating on PAni, which provides a new approach for the preparation of metal‐oxide/conducting polymer hybrid electrodes with excellent electrochemical performance.

Hybrid composite of screen-printed inorganic thermoelectric film and organic conducting polymer for flexible thermoelectric power generator

TEG (Thermoelectric power generator) modules are attractive energy harvesters, as they can deliver electrical output power from the temperature difference of all sorts of things. Recently, growing interests in self-powered wearable mobile electronics provoke the necessity of flexible TEG modules. However, the technology on flexible TEG modules is still at a very early stage. Here we demonstrate flexible high-performance TEG modules using a screen-printed inorganic thermoelectric thick film and organic conducting polymer hybrid composite. By infiltrating the organic conducting polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), into the micropores of the screen-printed thermoelectric thick film, the flexibility of the module is greatly enhanced without degradation of the output characteristics of the module. This work provides a promising new approach which has the potential to achieve a flexible high-performance TEG module.

Fabrication of Gold Nanoflower Anchored Conducting Polymer Hybrid Film Electrode by Pulse Potentiostatic Deposition

In this letter, we report a simple and rapid (~60 s) method to fabricate a new organic-inorganic hybrid film based on poly (di phenyl amine-co-4 amino thiophenol) (designated as PDPAAT) and gold nanoflowers (Au NFs). The fabrication involves a fast facile and pulse potentiostatic approach for the electrodeposition of Au NFs onto PDPAAT. The electrochemical, interfacial, and optical properties of the PDPAAT/Au NF hybrid film electrode are investigated. The superior electroactivity, electrochemical, and interfacial characteristics of the PDPAAT/Au NF electrode suggests its suitability for sensor, electrocatalysis, and diode applications.

A “skeleton/skin” strategy for preparing ultrathin free-standing single-walled carbon nanotube/polyaniline films for high performance supercapacitor electrodes

One of the most critical aspects in the preparation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)/conducting polymer hybrid electrodes is to improve the energy density without seriously deteriorating their high power capability. Here, we report a “skeleton/skin” strategy for the preparation of free-standing, thin and flexible SWCNT/polyaniline (PANI) hybrid films by a simple in situ electrochemical polymerization method using directly grown SWCNT films with a continuous reticulate structure as template. In situ electrochemical polymerization can achieve effective deposition of PANI onto the surface of SWCNT bundles in the films and control the morphology and microstructure of the SWCNT/PANI hybrid films. In a SWCNT/PANI hybrid film, the directly grown SWCNT film with continuous reticulate architecture acts as the skeleton and PANI layers act as the skin. This unique continuous “skeleton/skin” structure ensures that these hybrid films have much higher conductivity compared to SWCNT/PANI composite films based on post-deposition SWCNT films. Flexible supercapacitors have been fabricated using the SWCNT/PANI hybrid films as both electrodes and charge collectors without metallic current collectors. High energy and power densities (131 W h kg−1 and 62.5 kW kg−1, respectively) have been achieved for the optimized assembly. The high electrical conductivity and flexibility, in combination with continuous porous architecture, suggests that the as-prepared ultrathin free-standing SWCNT/PANI hybrid films have significant potential as promising electrode materials for thin, lightweight and flexible energy storage devices with high performance.

Scaling and Anisotropic Conduction in Electrochemically Deposited Polypyrrole Hybrid Junctions

Conducting polymer hybrid systems such as PPy(Li+ DBS-) exhibit novel time- and potential-dependent conductivities that can be used to create dynamic memory. The bulk-dominated electronic behavior of conducting polymer hybrids is expected to have superior scaling properties to interface-dominated devices such as CMOS transistors or storage capacitors. In this letter, the scaling properties of the potential-dependent current transients in electrochemically deposited PPy(Li+DBS-) coplanar junctions are examined from 5 to 45 μm. Static and dynamic electronic device behavior leads to the conclusion that carrier conduction in these systems is highly anisotropic with ratios in the range of 50-150:1.

Hybrid nanostructures based on the conducting polymers incorporated to porous silicon matrix

An influence of conducting polymer on the structure, morphology and luminescent characteristics of porous silicon – conducting polymer hybrid nanostructures has been studied. The incorporation of conducting polymers such as polyphenylacetylene (PPA), polyepoxypropyle carbazole, polyparaphenylene (PPP), polyaniline to porous silicon matrix was provided by magnetron deposition, electropolymerization and dip coating. The hybrid layers were studied by FT-IR spectroscopy, scanning electron and atom force microscopy and examined on the ability to photo- and cathode luminescence (CL). For the hybrid nanostructured layers based on PPA and PPP a significant increasing in the luminescence intensity has been found. According to FT-IR spectroscopy the interaction between polymer functional groups and porous silicon surface takes a place. Probably it leads to decreasing a rate of non-radiation surface recombination and to increasing a radiation component of recombination as well as increasing in the CL total intensity.

Hybrid organic–inorganic materials: from child’s play to energy applications

The field of hybrids has boomed since its initial conception with silicones as structural materials to the wealth of different types of hybrid materials studied nowadays as functional materials. Hybrids based on conducting polymers and a great variety of inorganic species constitute a growing area of this field. We present a brief review of the intersection between conducting polymer hybrids and electrochemical applications to energy storage and conversion. But beyond examples of hybrids active in batteries, supercapacitors, solar or fuel cells, we have tried to convey the standing challenges concerning the design of chemically (and electrochemically) complex hybrid systems with components and building blocks ranging from extended oxides or nanoparticles to carbon or oxide nanotubes, to clusters and to molecules and the opportunities arising from their integration with conducting polymers.

Cathodic Deposition of Polypyrrole Enabling the One‐Step Assembly of Metal–Polymer Hybrid Electrodes

Deposit account: The generation of oxidizing agents in situ allows the cathodic deposition of polypyrrole (ppy) by oxidative polymerization. Conducting polymers are synthesized with new nanoscale morphologies (e.g., nanospheres creating a three-dimensional porous network, see picture). Metal–conducting polymer hybrid electrodes are assembled by a one-step synthesis.

Electrospun Conducting Polymer-Based Sensors for Advanced Pathogen Detection

This paper focuses on the development of conducting polymer hybrid sensors for pathogen detection for advanced medical diagnostics. Using the electrospinning technique, polyaniline hybrids were developed for the detection of gas and for pH monitoring to determine the suitability of these sensors for exhaled human breath analyses. Results show that electrospun hybrids based on leucoemeraldine based polyaniline exhibit sensitivity to down to 1 ppm and for the first time, using emeraldine salt polyaniline, demonstrate a conductimetric response to changes in the headspace of aqueous solutions of varying pH. This manuscript discusses the response of these hybrid systems to varying concentrations of pH and NO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> .