Electrochemical weaving machine for two-dimensional free-standing synthesis of conducting polymer sheet with microchannel structure
摘要
A novel approach, termed electrochemical weaving, is presented for the substrate-free and scalable synthesis of conducting polypyrrole (PPy) sheets. The PPy sheet grows in less than 1 h at the surface of the solution containing NO3− and Py, while remaining attached to the anode on one side under a constant anodic voltage. The shape and dimensions of the PPy sheet can be adjusted by modifying the shape and dimensions of the electrodes. The presence of NO3− is confirmed to be essential in any form, as it produces the oxidizing species NO+, which initiates the surface polymerization of PPy. The prepared PPy sheet has two distinct sides: the liquid-side, which exhibits a spherical morphology, and the air-side, which features a microchannel structure. The air-side surface has a grooved texture visible to the naked eye and this grooved structure appears to grow toward the counter electrode. The resulting sheet is flexible, easily manipulated, and can be held by hand. This study introduces a simple method for fabricating of high-surface-area PPy films with microchannel structures using an electrochemical 2D printing technique. This emerging method has potential application in various research fields requiring scalable conducting polymer sheets.
Graphical Abstract