One-pot strategy to fabricate conductive cellulose nanocrystal-polyethylenedioxythiophene nanocomposite: Synthesis mechanism, modulated morphologies and sensor assembly

Dongping Tang; Somia Yassin Hussain Abdalkarim; Yanjuan Dong; Hou-Yong Yu

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120758

One-pot strategy to fabricate conductive cellulose nanocrystal-polyethylenedioxythiophene nanocomposite: Synthesis mechanism, modulated morphologies and sensor assembly

Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Jul 1:311:120758. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120758. Epub 2023 Mar 4.

Authors

Dongping Tang¹, Somia Yassin Hussain Abdalkarim¹, Yanjuan Dong¹, Hou-Yong Yu²

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
² Key Laboratory of Intelligent Textile and Flexible Interconnection of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China; State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China. Electronic address: phdyu@zstu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37028877
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120758

Abstract

Simple preparation, good conductivity, and excellent hydrophilicity are in urgent demand due to fast growth of wearable intelligent devices. Cellulose nanocrystal-polyethylenedioxythiophene (CNC-PEDOT) nanocomposites with modulated morphology were prepared through Iron (III) p-toluenesulfonate hydrolysis of commercialized microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and in situ polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene monomers (EDOT) through one-pot green synthesis, where preparation and modification of CNC were obtained for uses as templates to anchor PEDOT nanoparticles. The resultant CNC-PEDOT nanocomposite gave well-dispersed PEDOT nanoparticles with sheet-like structure on the CNC surface, possessing higher conductivity and improved hydrophilicity or dispersibility. Subsequently, a wearable non-woven fabrics (NWF) sensor was successfully assembled by dipping the conductive CNC-PEDOT, and showed excellent sensing response for multiple signals (subtle deformation from various human activities and temperature). This study provides a feasible and large-scale production of CNC-PEDOT nanocomposites and their applications in wearable flexible sensors and electronic devices.

Keywords: Cellulose nanocrystal; Nanocomposite; Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene); Synthesis mechanism.