Vapor phase polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene on flexible substrate and its application on heat generation

• Published in: Polymers for advanced technologies Vol. 22; no. 6; pp. 1049 - 1055
• Main Authors: Yang, Xiaoming, Shang, Songmin, Li, Liang, Tao, Xiao-Ming, Yan, Feng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.06.2011
• Subjects: conducting polymer; Electric potential; Fabrics; Heat generation; Polyethylene terephthalates; Polymerization; Textile composites; vapor phase polymerization; Vapor phases; Voltage
• ISSN: 1042-7147; 1099-1581; 1099-1581
• DOI: 10.1002/pat.1614

An oxidative chemical vapor phase polymerization process is applied to coat flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabrics with a uniform poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) film. This vapor phase polymerization method is a solventfree technique, which could yield a low resistance in the PEDOT‐coated PET fabric. The resistance as low as 52 Ω square−1 is achieved. The polymerization conditions, such as the concentration of oxidant, reaction time, and temperature, have been systematically investigated. The coated fabric samples exhibit an increase in temperature when subjected to a fixed DC voltage. This result indicates a potential application of these PEDOT‐coated fabrics as electric heating materials. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.