Conductive Polyamide 6 (PA-6) nanofibers were prepared by making a conductive polypyrrole coating obtained by a polymerization of pyrrole molecules directly on the fiber surface. A solution of PA-6 added with ferric chloride in formic acid has been electrospun and the fibers obtained showed an average diameter of 260 nm with a smooth surface. The fibers have been then exposed to pyrrole vapours and a compact coating of polypyrrole was formed on the fiber surface. The growth of the coating was monitored by measuring the increment of the fiber diameter and by FT-IR spectroscopy. The same technique was used to study the interaction between the ferric chloride and the polyamide chains. The polypyrrole coating on the fibers turned out to be conductive with a pure resistive characteristic and the stability of the conductivity was evaluated in air at room temperature.

A new approach for the fabrication of disposable electrochemical surfaces is presented. Conducting fibers have been produced by a two-step process. Firstly, a fine web mat composed of nylon-6 and ferric chloride fibers (with diameters of about 200 nm) were electrospun on a flat collector. Afterwards, the electrospun mat was exposed to pyrrole vapor under controlled dry atmosphere until each nylon thread was fully coated with a conducting polypyrrole layer. The conducting fiber mat was finally integrated within an electrochemical cell and used as a disposable sensor device. The suitability of the sensor was tested using phosphate and carbonate organic anions. The large scale fabrication of conducting tissue, in the form of a fine web of spun nanofibers, is relatively fast and inexpensive, and it paves the way to the build up of new disposable electrodes.