Fabrication of Electrically Conducting Polypyrrole‐Poly(ethylene oxide) Composite Nanofibers

Abstract

Abstract Summary: Electrically conducting polypyrrole‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PPy‐PEO) composite nanofibers are fabricated via a two‐step process. First, FeCl 3 ‐containing PEO nanofibers are produced by electrospinning. Second, the PEO‐FeCl 3 electrospun fibers are exposed to pyrrole vapor for the synthesis of polypyrrole. The vapor phase polymerization occurs through the diffusion of pyrrole monomer into the nanofibers. The collected non‐woven fiber mat is composed of 96 ± 30 nm diameter PPy‐PEO nanofibers. FT‐IR, XPS, and conductivity measurements confirm polypyrrole synthesis in the nanofiber. An SEM image of the PPy‐PEO composite nanofibers. The scale bar in the image is 500 nm. image An SEM image of the PPy‐PEO composite nanofibers. The scale bar in the image is 500 nm.