Thin films consisting of conducting polymer nanostructures provide a larger surface-to-volume ratio for charge-carrier transport as compared to their bulky counterparts. Thus, a facile and inexpensive fabrication technique for conducting polymers on t...
Thin films consisting of conducting polymer nanostructures provide a larger surface-to-volume ratio for charge-carrier transport as compared to their bulky counterparts. Thus, a facile and inexpensive fabrication technique for conducting polymers on the basis of solution processing, which offer a reproducible control of thickness and morphological homogenity, is an attractive option for various applications including solar cells, sensors, and capacitors.
This dissertation describes various ways in the synthetic methodology of high-performance conducting polymer thin films using solution processes in the viewpoint of shape-controlled nanomaterials, organic solvent-dispersible, and water-dispersible conducting polymer nanostructures. Firstly, the shaped-controlled PANI nanomaterials, such as nanofibers (NFs), nanorods (NRs), and nanoparticles (NPs), could be prepared by adjusting the amount of the oxidizing agent and the monomer during chemical oxidation polymerization to identify the optimal shape of PANI to detect dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP). Porous polyaniline/camphorsulfonic acid (PANI/CSA) nanostructures were fabricated by introducing thermally decomposing compounds into a solution of PANI/CSA dissolved in a m-cresol/chloroform co-solvent. The porous PANI/CSA thin films were employed as electrode materials in both supercapacitor and dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). In order to create water-dispersible conducting polymer nanostructures, poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) has been used a binding agent and a charge-balancing counterion for polyaniline (PANI) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). The PSS allowed homogeneous dispersion and successful incorporation of various materials, such as palladium (II) chloride (PdCl2), ruthenium (IV) oxide (RuO2), and graphene sheets, into the conducting polymers. Pd NPs-decorated porous P(ANI-co-ASA):PSS nanostructure was prepared in aqueous solution, and exhibited high H2 sensitivity. PSS-doped PANI/graphene nanocomposite was fabricated by incorporating PSS-coated graphenes into the PANI doped with PSS having different molecular weight (Mw), and as-prepared nanocomposites successfully detected hydrogen sulfide (H2S) even at low gas concentration. A ternary nanostructure composed of RuO2 NPs-decorated PEDOT:PSS/graphene was highly dispered in water, and the nanostructure could be formed as a patterned electrode with high conductivity and electrochemical properties for use a supercapacitor via a screen-printing method.
The procedure described herein provides a facile, cost-effective, and new means for producing high-performance thin films with improved electrical and electrochemical properties via solution processes, and these novel approaches can be used for fabricating electrode materials in sensors, supercapacitors, and solar cells.