Synthesis of PEDOT:PSS using benzoyl peroxide as an alternative oxidizing agent for ESD coating and electro-active material in supercapacitor

Abstract

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy thiophene) containing poly(styrenesulfonic acid) [PEDOT:PSS] is an important commercial polymer and most practical preparation method was developed at Bayer AG under the name ‘BAYTRON P synthesis’. In this work, we used benzoyl peroxide as an alternative oxidant for the preparation of PEDOT:PSS. Formation of PEDOT:PSS was confirmed from infrared, electronic absorption and XRD pattern. PEDOT:PSS was obtained in paracrystalline form with a very good pellet conductivity (6 S cm−1) and stability (up to 190 °C). Also, PEDOT:PSS was prepared in water as aqueous dispersion and this dispersion can be coated on various substrates. Electrochemical characterization of PEDOT:PSS electrode in aq.1 M H2SO4 solution was carried using cyclic voltammetry, charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetric pattern shows almost rectangular spectrum with specific capacitance value of 150 F g−1. One of the important outputs of this work, i.e. ESR value was very low (0.4 Ω) and found independent with cycle numbers. Keywords: PEDOT:PSS, Benzoyl peroxide oxidant, Dispersion, Coatings, Supercapacitor