Preparation of highly conductive polyurethane/polypyrrole composite film for flexible electric heater

Abstract

In this work, a rationally flexible polyurethane (PU)/polypyrrole (PPy) electric heater was fabricated through the combined use of wet process and in situ polymerization, and their structures and electrical properties with different Py/FeCl3 ratios were investigated. The electric heating behavior of films can be facilely adjusted by electrical properties and input voltages. The results showed that the obtained PU/PPy composite film possesses good thermal stability and has a low electric resistance of about 10.5 Ω sq−1. Accordingly, electric heating behavior of the composite film with the Py/FeCl3 ratio of 1/2 was capable of heating a substrate up to 110°C at 7 V in 28 s from room temperature and then when heated to 1st to 10th cycle at 6 V showed no energy loss, exhibiting excellent stability and recyclability. Herein, the availability PU/PPy composite film will have a potential application in flexible electric heater.