Polythiophene nanoparticles in aqueous media

The article presents the data concerning the synthesis of polythiophene (PTh) nanoparticles in aqueous medium applying emulsion polymerization. The synthetic method was studied in variety of combinations of initiator and surfactant. It was found that application of potassium peroxydisulfate (KPS) as initiator and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the surfactant gives the best product yields. The structure, morphology, and physicochemical properties have been analyzed showing that the resulting latex have conducting film forming properties. Resulting polymers were characterized via fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and electrochemical methods [e.g. current-voltage characteristics (I-V), activation energy of electric conductivity, and doping processes]. A mechanism of the polymerization reaction is also discussed. (c) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43495.