Substrate coating by conductive polymers through spontaneous oxidation and polymerization

Abstract

A variety of substrates and substances were coated with conductive polymers at low temperature under ambient pressure. The substrate coating with heteroaromatic polymers proceeded through spontaneous oxidation and polymerization of the monomers, such as pyrrole (Py) and thiophene (Tp) derivatives. The monomer liquid, the solid nitrate oxidant, and the substrate were put in a closed vessel. The vapor of the activated monomer was spontaneously generated on the surface of the solid nitrate oxidant through the diffusion of the monomer vapor. The monomer and its activated species were adsorbed and polymerized on the surface of any substrate in the reaction vessel. The thickness was controlled by the reaction time. The substituents of the monomers had an influence on the coating rate. The morphology of the coated polymers was changed by the substrates with different wettabilities. The thin coating of the heteroaromatic polymer was applied to the preparation of an electrode for charge storage based on the redox reaction. The thin coating on the current collector showed an enhanced high-rate charge–discharge performance. The present synthetic approach can be applied to the coating of polymer materials on a variety of substrates from the monomer vapor under mild conditions.