Highly Stretchable Conductive Nanocomposite Films Using Regenerated Cellulose Nanoparticles

Abstract

Dip-coating or printing methods are often used to fabricate conductive composite films using organic polymeric conducting fillers to achieve high performance, but these approaches are prone to friction. To overcome this, anionic waterborne polyurethane (WPU)-based conductive nanocomposite films were developed in this study by drop-casting. Regenerative cellulose nanoparticles (RCNs) were incorporated as a chain extender and reinforcing filler to enhance both the mechanical and electrical properties. The loading of RCNs into the anionic WPU is not only an environmentally friendly approach using biomass but also a smart one producing poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-rich domains, thereby enhancing its conductivity. Moreover, the elasticity of the fabricated films increased with increasing Young's modulus and by the introduction of RCNs with low crystallinity. These findings highlight the importance of PEDOT assisted by anionic WPU with RCNs in achieving conductive WPU/RCN nanocomposite films dispersed with PEDOT with an enhanced electrical conductivity of 1.16 × 10–1 and a high stretchability of 810 ± 17%.