STABILITY ENHANCEMENT OF ELECTROACTIVE POLYMERS VIA SURFACE GRAFT COPOLYMERIZATION OF HYDROPHOBIC MONOMERS

摘要

ABSTRACTSTABILITY ENHANCEMENT OF ELECTROACTIVE POLYMERS VIASURFACE CRAFT COPOLYMERIZATION OF HYDROPHOBIC MONOMERSThe potential of using electroactive polymers in practical applications depends to a Large extent on their stability. One of the`' problems frequently encountered is the partialundoping of these polymers upon exposure to water or aqueous solutions which results in the loss of the counterions from the polymers. The degradation of the polymers is manifested as a decrease in electrical conductivity which may then be a few orders of magnitude lower than the value for the pristine film. In the present invention, we havegraft copvlymerized hydrophobic monomers on the surfaces of electroactive polymer films and composites. The film and composites remain electrically conductive after the grafting process. The presence of the hydrophobic polymer chains on the surface of the electroactive polymer films and composites successfully retarded the degradation of such films and composites upon immersion in water or mildly basic solutions. The conductivity of the ungrafted polyaniline film after 24h in water is l00 less than that of the grafted film subjected to similar treatment.