Chromic Behavior of Conductive Poly(3-Methylthiophene) Nanoparticles-Coated Polyester Fabric

Chromic behavior and electrical conductivity of poly(3-methylthiophene) nanoparticles - coated polyester fabric was investigated by chemical polymerization method. The electrochromic behavior of poly(3-methylthiophene) coated polyester fabrics were measured by digital voltmeter on the samples surface and the reflectance spectra were recorded. The effects of reaction time, temperature, and oxidant concentration on conductivity and other properties of the coated fabric were studied. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the surface of fabric has entirely been coated with poly(3-methylthiophene) particles at range of nanometer. Further characterizations were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to provide evidence of forming nanoparticles onto the fabric, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, electrical surface resistivity and pressure dependence visible reflectance spectrophotometer measurements. It can be found that the oxidant polymerization has been done physically without any structural changes. Results showed that the increasing of reaction time and temperature (less than 40°C) and oxidant to monomer molar ratio up to 3:1 led to a decrease in the electrical resistance of polymer-coated fabric. Also, the strength of samples was decreased during the polymerization (raw polyester fabric's strength, 23.36 kgf; coated polyester fabric's strength, 19.42 kgf). The blue shift in the reflectance spectra under high pressure represented the piezochromism in poly(3-methylthiophene) nanoparticlescoated polyester fabric.