This article offers a fast and innovative process for carrying out in situ polymerization of pyrrole onto a polyester fabric. This process is based on electrically-assisted chemical vapor polymerization that takes around 180 s to produce an electroconductive fabric with a surface resistance of as low as 70 Ω. The ultrasonication carried out at 20 kHz frequency is quite effective in binding the polymer to the fabric. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction studies confirm that the polymer formed is polypyrrole. The application of electric potential across an oxidant-enriched fabric results in polymer add-on of polypyrrole as high as 250%. The amount of polypyrrole formed and the surface resistance of the fabric are found to depend on the potential applied across the fabric. The concentrations of the oxidant and the dopant, the time of polymerization, and the rate of monomer vaporization are found to be critical in deciding the surface resistance of the fabric.

Electrochemical polymerization of pyrrole requires a supporting compound for higher polymer yield. Such compounds have been designated as electrolyte or as dopant. This article examines the roles of such compounds when used individually or in combination for the synthesis of polypyrrole films and polypyrrole coated polyester fabric via in situ electrochemical polymerization. With a view to obtain higher polymer deposition, the effect of 0.15 mM concentration of sodium nitrate, sodium anthraquinone-2-sulfonate, p-toluenesulfonic acid and oxalic acid on the system current and the surface resistance was examined by means of chronoamperometry technique. FTIR and WAXD spectra were used to establish the formation of polypyrrole and doping of different compounds. SEM analysis confirmed deposition of polypyrrole onto the fabric. The charge utilization factor helped in identifying a good dopant. Sulfonic acidbased salt AQSA-Na was found to be useful as a dopant as well as an electrolyte. A combination of 0.075 mM sodium nitrate as an electrolyte and 0.075 mM pTSA as a dopant resulted in least surface resistance of polypyrrole film and polypyrrole coated polyester fabric which was almost 88% lower than the polypyrrole coated polyester fabric prepared using the surface resistance of polypyrrole coated polyester fabric via pyrrole vapor polymerization.

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