Electrically conducting organic films and beads based on conducting latex particles

Abstract

Electrically conducting films have been prepared by casting aqueous dispersions of mixed polymer lattices on supporting glass microscope slides; one of the lattices is conducting (polypyrrole or polyaniline) and the other film-forming (a 1:1 co-polymer of polymethylmethacrylate and polybutylacrylate). The polypyrrole particles, being roughly spherical in shape, give a percolation threshold where the conductivity rises sharply at a weight fraction of about 20%, whereas the polyaniline particles, being needle-shaped, have a much lower percolation threshold at about 5%. In addition, the preparation of composite beads, having a non-conducting polymer core (e.g. polymethylmethacrylate) and a conducting shell (polypyrrole), has been carried out.