Properties of carbon black-PEDOT composite prepared via in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization

Abstract

AbstractA new conductive composite composed of nanoscale carbon black (CB) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was prepared by a simple in-situ polymerization. The morphology of the composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The structure and thermal stability were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis, respectively. The results indicated that the addition of CB improved the agglomerated state of PEDOT. On the one hand, CB effectively hindered the agglomeration of PEDOT during the polymerization. Thus, the obtained CB-PEDOT composite dispersed well in solution, which can facilitate the reprocessing of CB-PEDOT. On the other hand, CB covered most of the surface of PEDOT, which enhanced the electrical conductivity of CB-PEDOT. Furthermore, the interfacial interaction between CB and PEDOT improved the thermal stability of CB-PEDOT. The findings of this research suggest that CB can replace polyelectrolyte poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) to achieve reprocessable materials for certain applications.