In-situ synthesis of polypyrrole/silver for fabricating alginate fabrics with high conductivity, UV resistance and hydrophobicity

In this research, the polypyrrole/silver (PPy/Ag) composite was first in-situ prepared on alginate fabrics by chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole (Py) monomer using silver nitrate as oxidant and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the dopant. The effects of mole ratio of Py to silver nitrate, reaction time and dopant concentration on the preparation of PPy/Ag composite were optimized. It was found the optimal molar ratio of Py to silver nitrate was 1:1.5 with 0.02 M SDS under the reaction time of 10 h. Then, the microstructure and properties of resultant PPy/Ag composite were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and the thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), respectively. Finally, the influences of PPy/Ag coating on the performance of alginate fabrics including electrical conductivity, hydrophilicity, antistatic property and anti-ultraviolet capability were determined. It was found that the electrical conductivity of alginate fabric could be intensively increased after PPy/Ag coating. Meantime, the anti-ultraviolet capability and hydrophobicity could be largely improved by PPy/Ag coating especially under high Py dosage. This paper introduced a simple method for preparing PPy/Ag composite direct on alginate fabric to make it a good functional substrate which could be applied in many fields.