Polypyrrole-poly(vinyl chloride) and polypyrrole-cellulose acetate conducting composite films by opposite-diffusion polymerization

Conducting polypyrrole-poly(vinyl chloride) (PPY-PVC) and polypyrrole-cellulose acetate (PPY-CA) composite films have been prepared by a simple method of opposite-diffusion polymerization. By this procedure the diffusion of pyrrole and oxidizing ferric salt from different sides via swollen CA films in water and PVC films in acetonitrile has led to the process of polymerization in the body of the substrata with the formation of black homogeneous composite films after a reaction time of 10–24 h. It has been shown that PPY content in these films was up to 60%. Studies of electrical properties of composite films have demonstrated that conductivity of the film surface in contact with the solution of the oxidant reached 40 S/cm; however, this value for the other surface of the PPY-PVC films was two orders of magnitude lower. This fact was explained by different PPY concentrations near the surfaces and confirmed by the data of attenuated total reflection IR spectroscopy.