Titre : Organic Conductive Polymers for Wearable Electronics.
Endroit : Pavillon J.-A.-Bombardier, salle 1035 à 11 h.
Hôte : Professeur William Skene.
La conférence sera prononcée (en anglais) par le professeur Gregory Sotzing, du Département de chimie de l'University of Connecticut.
Résumé : Wearable and flexible electronics are being investigated for systems such as health monitoring, and displays. Polymeric materials that conduct electricity may play a role in these future technologies in that they may offer structural variety to meet demanding mechanical requirements as well as the ability to be manufactured in an open air environment via roll-to-roll procedures. Here, we will present our research in the area of electrochromics and how we have applied these materials to flexible, and stretchable fabrics such as spandex. One key in this development was to optimize the electro-chromophore structure such that color selection would be trivial, and have this implemented into a single step lamination procedure. Another key aspect is the development of an organic conductor that has low color and yet high conductivity. As to this, we have prepared a conductive polymer that suits the need by a chemical reaction at the substrate to conductive polymer interface that induces a phase segregation between the conductive polymer PEDOT (poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and its ‘dopant’ or charge compensating polymer, polystyrene sulfonate (PSS). Fabrics achieved by this technique are capable of carrying 250 W alternating current with current carrying capacities exceeding 2 Amps/mm2. We have also demonstrated that the PEDOT-PSS can be patterned by screen printing, spay coating, and by roller stenciling to produce organic conductive wires on textile with the ability to bend and stretch. The emphasis on the chemistry will be structure-property relationships as they pertain to color tuning, as well as presenting PEDOT-PSS as a reactive polymer in which it is both a strong acid and an oxidant.
