Polypyrrole (PPy) is an organic polymer obtained by oxidative polymerization of pyrrole. It is a solid with the formula H(C4H2NH)nH. It is an intrinsically conducting polymer, used in electronics, optical, biological and medical fields. [2] [3]
Some of the first examples of PPy were reported in 1919 by Angeli and Pieroni, who reported the formation of pyrrole blacks from pyrrole magnesium bromide. [4] Since then pyrrole oxidation reaction has been studied and reported in scientific literature.
Work on conductive polymers including polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyaniline, and polyacetylene was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000 to Alan J. Heeger, Alan G. MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa . [5]
Different methods can be used to synthesize PPy, but the most common are electrochemical synthesis and chemical oxidation. [6] [3] [7]
Chemical oxidation of pyrrole:
The process is thought to occur via the formation of the pi-radical cation C4H4NH+. This electrophile attacks the C-2 carbon of an unoxidized molecule of pyrrole to give a dimeric cation [(C4H4NH)2]++. The process repeats itself many times.
Conductive forms of PPy are prepared by oxidation ("p-doping") of the polymer:
The polymerization and p-doping can also be effected electrochemically. The resulting conductive polymer are peeled off of the anode. Cyclic voltammetry and chronocoulometry methods can be used for electrochemical synthesis of polypyrrole. [8]
Most recent micro and nano droplet researches have been conducted in the synthesis of polypyrrole microstructures using various fluid templates formed on different solid surfaces. [9]
Films of PPy are yellow but darken in the air due to some oxidation. Doped films are blue or black depending on the degree of polymerization and film thickness. They are amorphous, showing only weak diffraction. PPy is described as "quasi-unidimensional" vs one-dimensional since there is some crosslinking and chain hopping. Undoped and doped films are insoluble in solvents but swellable. Doping makes the materials brittle. They are stable in the air up to 150 °C at which temperature the dopant starts to evolve (e.g., as HCl). [2]
Doping the polymer requires that the material swell to accommodate the charge-compensating anions. The physical changes associated with this charging and discharging have been discussed as a form of artificial muscle. [10] The surface of polypyrrole films present fractal properties and ionic diffusion through them show anomalous diffusion pattern. [11] [12]
PPy and related conductive polymers have two main application in electronic devices and for chemical sensors and electrochemical applications. [13]
PPy is a potential vehicle for drug delivery. The polymer matrix serves as a container for proteins. [14]
Polypyrrole has been investigated as a catalyst support for fuel cells [15] and to sensitize cathode electrocatalysts. [16]
Together with other conjugated polymers such as polyaniline, poly(ethylenedioxythiophene) etc., polypyrrole has been studied as a material for "artificial muscles", a technology that offers advantages relative to traditional motor actuating elements. [17]
Polypyrrole was used to coat silica and reverse phase silica to yield a material capable of anion exchange and exhibiting hydrophobic interactions. [18]
Polypyrrole was used in the microwave fabrication of multiwalled carbon nanotubes, a rapid method to grow CNT's. [19]
A water-resistant polyurethane sponge coated with a thin layer of polypyrrole absorbs 20 times its weight in oil and is reusable. [20]
The wet-spun polypyrrole fibre can be prepared chemical polymerization pyrrole and DEHS as dopant. [21]
Organic electronics is a field of materials science concerning the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of organic molecules or polymers that show desirable electronic properties such as conductivity. Unlike conventional inorganic conductors and semiconductors, organic electronic materials are constructed from organic (carbon-based) molecules or polymers using synthetic strategies developed in the context of organic chemistry and polymer chemistry.
Conductive polymers or, more precisely, intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) are organic polymers that conduct electricity. Such compounds may have metallic conductivity or can be semiconductors. The main advantage of conductive polymers is that they are easy to process, mainly by dispersion. Conductive polymers are generally not thermoplastics, i.e., they are not thermoformable. But, like insulating polymers, they are organic materials. They can offer high electrical conductivity but do not show similar mechanical properties to other commercially available polymers. The electrical properties can be fine-tuned using the methods of organic synthesis and by advanced dispersion techniques.
Polyacetylene usually refers to an organic polymer with the repeating unit [C2H2]n. The name refers to its conceptual construction from polymerization of acetylene to give a chain with repeating olefin groups. This compound is conceptually important, as the discovery of polyacetylene and its high conductivity upon doping helped to launch the field of organic conductive polymers. The high electrical conductivity discovered by Hideki Shirakawa, Alan Heeger, and Alan MacDiarmid for this polymer led to intense interest in the use of organic compounds in microelectronics. This discovery was recognized by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000. Early work in the field of polyacetylene research was aimed at using doped polymers as easily processable and lightweight "plastic metals". Despite the promise of this polymer in the field of conductive polymers, many of its properties such as instability to air and difficulty with processing have led to avoidance in commercial applications.
Polythiophenes (PTs) are polymerized thiophenes, a sulfur heterocycle. The parent PT is an insoluble colored solid with the formula (C4H2S)n. The rings are linked through the 2- and 5-positions. Poly(alkylthiophene)s have alkyl substituents at the 3- or 4-position(s). They are also colored solids, but tend to be soluble in organic solvents.
Organic semiconductors are solids whose building blocks are pi-bonded molecules or polymers made up by carbon and hydrogen atoms and – at times – heteroatoms such as nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. They exist in the form of molecular crystals or amorphous thin films. In general, they are electrical insulators, but become semiconducting when charges are either injected from appropriate electrodes, upon doping or by photoexcitation.
Alan Graham MacDiarmid, ONZ FRS was a New Zealand-born American chemist, and one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000.
In organic chemistry, a radical anion is a free radical species that carries a negative charge. Radical anions are encountered in organic chemistry as reduced derivatives of polycyclic aromatic compounds, e.g. sodium naphthenide. An example of a non-carbon radical anion is the superoxide anion, formed by transfer of one electron to an oxygen molecule. Radical anions are typically indicated by .
meta-Cresol, also 3-methylphenol, is an organic compound with the formula CH3C6H4(OH). It is a colourless, viscous liquid that is used as an intermediate in the production of other chemicals. It is a derivative of phenol and is an isomer of p-cresol and o-cresol.
A polymer-based battery uses organic materials instead of bulk metals to form a battery. Currently accepted metal-based batteries pose many challenges due to limited resources, negative environmental impact, and the approaching limit of progress. Redox active polymers are attractive options for electrodes in batteries due to their synthetic availability, high-capacity, flexibility, light weight, low cost, and low toxicity. Recent studies have explored how to increase efficiency and reduce challenges to push polymeric active materials further towards practicality in batteries. Many types of polymers are being explored, including conductive, non-conductive, and radical polymers. Batteries with a combination of electrodes are easier to test and compare to current metal-based batteries, however batteries with both a polymer cathode and anode are also a current research focus. Polymer-based batteries, including metal/polymer electrode combinations, should be distinguished from metal-polymer batteries, such as a lithium polymer battery, which most often involve a polymeric electrolyte, as opposed to polymeric active materials.
An electrically conducting yarn is a yarn that conducts electricity. Conducting yarns are used to manufacture carpets and other items that dissipate static electricity, such as work clothes in highly flammable environments, e.g., in the petrochemistry industry.
Transparent conducting films (TCFs) are thin films of optically transparent and electrically conductive material. They are an important component in a number of electronic devices including liquid-crystal displays, OLEDs, touchscreens and photovoltaics. While indium tin oxide (ITO) is the most widely used, alternatives include wider-spectrum transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), conductive polymers, metal grids and random metallic networks, carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene, nanowire meshes and ultra thin metal films.
Gordon Wallace, AO, FAA, FTSE, FRACI is a leading scientist in the field of electromaterials. His students and collaborators have pioneered the use of nanotechnology in conjunction with organic conductors to create new materials for energy conversion and storage as well as medical bionics. He has developed new approaches to fabrication that allow material properties discovered in the nano world to be translated into micro structures and macro scopic devices.
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