Flexible and conducting composites of polypyrrole and polydimethylsiloxane

Conductive and flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/polypyrrole (PPy) composites were synthesized electrochemically. Electrochemical syntheses were performed at +1.10 V by using p-toluene sulfonic acid (PTSA) as supporting electrolyte and water as solvent. Composites were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Conductivity measurements and mechanical tests were also performed. The observed conductivities were in the range of 3.5-7.6 S/cm, indicating that the conductivities of PDMS/PPy composites and that of pure PPy were in the same order of magnitude. Tensile tests revealed that higher percent elongation was obtained by the addition of PDMS. Highly flexible and foldable PDMS/PPy composites were successfully synthesized, which have high conductivities and unproved mechanical properties. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.