Thermally Stable and Solvent-Resistant Conductive Polymer Composites with Cross-Linked Siloxane Network

Doped conjugated polymers can present high electrical conductivity, but their stability against external stimuli such as heat, moisture, and solvent is often limited. Here, we report a design approach to render thermally and chemically stable conductive polymer composites consisting of 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene (ProDOT) and ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) based copolymers (CPs) and cross-linkable chlorosilane (C-Si). Through a sol-gel reaction, chlorosilane precursors form siloxane networks and simultaneously dope the polymers. Temperature-dependent in situ UV-vis absorption and conductivity characterization show that the conductive C-Si/CPs composites can retain their doped state at high temperature and in prolonged baking time. Specifically, the composites' conductivity remains almost unchanged after 6 h and only slightly dipping to nearly 80% after 24 h of annealing at 80 degrees C in ambient air. They also exhibit excellent solvent resistance upon dipping into water and chloroform. This work reports a method of designing stable-doped polymer systems that can function under harsh conditions.

Automated summary

This study reports a method for designing stable-conductive polymer composites that can maintain their conductivity at high temperature and in harsh conditions. These composites exhibit excellent solvent resistance and can retain their conductivity even after prolonged baking at high temperatures.