Ionic shape memory polymer gels as multifunctional sensors

Novel ionic shape memory polymer (SMP) gels were fabricated using SMPs and ionic liquids (ILs) of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMI-TFSI) at different weight ratios (W_IL). The shape memory effect and sensor performance of the ionic SMP gels were investigated by means of thermomechanical and mechanoelectrical analyses. It was found that the ionic SMP gel at W_IL = 25 wt% showed a shape memory effect with the shape fixing ratio (R_f) and shape recovery ratio (R_r) of 72.7% and 72.9%, respectively. Upon bending, the ionic SMP gel sensors with PEDOT:PSS electrodes generated an open circuit voltage of 3.3 mV and a charge of 1.6 nC which linearly increased with increasing bending displacement and velocity, respectively. Furthermore, the wearable shape memory multifunctional sensor array was demonstrated as a self-powered motion sensor for IoT applications.

Fully soluble self-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) with an electrical conductivity greater than 1000 S cm-1

Wet-processable and highly conductive polymers are promising candidates for key materials in organic electronics. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is commercially available as a water dispersion of colloidal particles but has some technical issues with PSS. Here, we developed a novel fully soluble self-doped PEDOT (S-PEDOT) with an electrical conductivity as high as 1089 S cm^-1 without additives (solvent effect). Our results indicate that the molecular weight of S-PEDOT is the critical parameter for increasing the number of nanocrystals, corresponding to the S-PEDOT crystallites evaluated by x-ray diffraction and conductive atomic force microscopic analyses as having high electrical conductivity, which reduced both the average distance between adjacent nanocrystals and the activation energy for the hopping of charge carriers, leading to the highest bulk conductivity.

Nanocrystallization and Electronic-Conductivity Enhancement in PEDOT:PSS films

The conductive organic polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate), abbreviated as PEDOT:PSS, is widely used in capacitors, antistatic coating etc. and one of the potential materials for the next-generation printable electronics. It is because of its excellent dispersibility in water and high electronic conductivity of more than 1,000 S/cm. Although many preceding studies have provided a variety of possible mechanisms of high conductivity, such as charge transfer between PEDOT and residual solvents, there has been no conclusive explanation for the origin of the high conductivity. Here, we report the nanometer-size crystallization of PEDOT inside the hydrophobic core region of PEDOT:PSS in a solid film and enhancement of electronic conductivity caused by the nanometer-size crystal growth of PEDOT. The structure of PEDOT:PSS has been investigated by means of small- and wide-angle X-ray scatterings (SAXS and WAXS) using high brilliance synchrotron radiation light source in SPring-8, Japan. We have obtained the microscopic structural model of PEDOT:PSS micelle in the water dispersion and the solid polymer film (Fig. 1(a)). Nanometer-size crystals of PEDOT were grown during the course of film fabrication in the wet process from the water dispersion. Furthermore, we found that the better crystallinity of the PEDOT crystal in the films prepared in the different conditions resulted in the higher electrical conductivity (Fig. 1(b)). The result suggests that the size of the crystallite is one of the key parameters for the enhancement of the electronic conductivity in PEDOT:PSS films. These findings shed light on the further improvement of the electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS polymer films by controlling the evaporation to dryness in the wet fabrication process.

Thermo-responsive nanofiber mats fabricated by electrospinning of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-stearyl acrylate)

Copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide and stearyl acrylate (PNIPA-SAX) with various SA feed ratios (X = 1-10 mol%) were synthesized and electrospun into nanofiber mats. It was found that average diameter of nanofibers electrospun at concentration of 25% and voltage of 30 kV linearly increased from 165 nm (PNIPA) to 497 nm (PNIPA-SA10) with increasing the SA content. The PNIPA-SAX (X = 3-10 mol%) nanofiber mats were insoluble in water at 25 degrees C, in which inter-polymer and interfiber physical cross-links were formed through hydrophobic interaction of stearyl side-chains. With increasing the temperature from 25 to 40 degrees C the PNIPA-SA3 nanofiber mat exhibited significant volume contraction of 66%, while that of a single nanofiber estimated by AFM measurements was found to be 37%. The results allowed us to conclude that not only swelling-deswelling but also dissociation-association of the nanofibers via hydrophobic interactions were crucially important for the macroscopic volume changes of the nanofiber mats.

Electro-driven chemomechanical polymer gel as an intelligent soft material

Weakly crosslinked poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) gel was synthesized and the chemomechanical behaviors in the presence of N-alkylpyridinium chloride (CnPyCl n = 4, 12, 16) were studied. The principle of this behavior is based upon an electrokinetic molecular assembly reaction of surfactant molecules on the polymer gel caused by both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. Under an electric field PAMPS gel underwent significant and quick bending and the response could be controlled effectively by changing the alkyl chain length of the surfactant molecule, the salt concentration, and the current applied. The results allow us to consider that cooperative complex formation between PAMPS gel and CnPyCl is responsible for this effective chemomechanical behavior.