Gemini surfactant doped polypyrrole nanodispersions: an inkjet printable formulation

Abstract

We chemically synthesized inkjet printable polypyrrole (PPy) nanoformulations with reasonable conductivity for the first time in the presence of gemini surfactants 9BA-4-9BA (6,6′-(butane-1,4-diylbis(oxy)) bis(3-nonylbenzenesulfonic acid)) and 9B-4-9B (6,6′-(butane-1,4-diylbis(oxy)) bis(3-nonylbenzenesulfonic sodium)). Different oxidants and surfactants were investigated to optimize the surface tension, viscosity and conductivity of PPy dispersions to make it suitable for inkjet printing. Finally, a nanoformulation (maximum particle size < 200 nm) with low viscosity (9.4 mPa s), low surface tension (30.8 mN m⁻¹) and reasonable cast conductivity (1.26 S cm⁻¹) was obtained. This nanoformulation was printed successfully on different substrates and SEM images of a printed film on PVDF indicate that the size of the particles in the dispersion is 50 ± 5 nm. The conductivity of printed PPy/GA films on glass slides was as high as 0.7 S cm⁻¹.