DIFFUSION-OXIDATIVE POLYMERIZATION OF TRANSPARENT AND CONDUCTING POLYPYRROLE-POLY(ETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE) COMPOSITES

Pyrrole sorbed into poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) matrix films may be polymerized by 10-20% aqueous FeCl3 solution. The PPy-PET composite films (30-mu-m thickness) possessing both high transmittance (70-85%, 633 nm) and conductivity (0.03-0.10 S/cm) can be consistently prepared by this diffusion-oxidation procedure under the optimum reaction temperature (in the range 0-10-degrees-C) and reaction time (5-10 h). This experimental result suggests that the polypyrrole distributing uniformly over molecular chain gaps of the PET matrix is capable of forming a conducting network at low concentrations.