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Creating opal-templated continuous conducting polymer films with ultralow percolation thresholds using thermally
Dong Jin Kang1, Taegyun Kwon, Minsoo P Kim
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea.
ACS Nano
|October 4, 2011
Summary
We developed a new method using polymer-coated gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as surfactants to create continuous conducting polymer films with significantly reduced percolation thresholds. This advance enables efficient transport of species in materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Creating continuous conducting polymer films often requires high concentrations of conductive materials, leading to increased costs and processing challenges.
- Existing methods struggle to achieve low percolation thresholds, limiting their efficiency in applications requiring transport of molecular species, ions, or electrons.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel and robust strategy for fabricating continuous conducting polymer films with ultralow percolation thresholds.
- To utilize polymer-coated gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) as effective surfactants in the formation of these advanced polymer films.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of continuous poly(triphenylamine) (PTPA) films using cross-linked polystyrene (PS) colloidal particles as a template for high internal phase polymeric emulsions.
- Employing thermally stable, phase-neutral polymer-coated Au NPs as surfactants localized at the PS/PTPA interface.
- Characterization of film morphology and conductivity using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) at varying compositions and Au NP concentrations.
Main Results:
- A significant reduction in the percolation threshold of the PTPA phase from 0.20 to 0.05 was achieved with the addition of only 0.35 vol % surfactant Au NPs.
- SEM and TEM confirmed the formation of a continuous PTPA phase within the polyhedral PS colloid structure.
- Demonstrated the influence of nanoparticle surfactant concentration on blend film morphology and conductivity.
Conclusions:
- The proposed method effectively creates continuous conducting polymer films with ultralow percolation thresholds using polymer-coated Au NPs as surfactants.
- This approach offers a versatile methodology for applications demanding efficient transport of species (molecular, ionic, or electronic) within a mechanically supportive matrix.
