Polypyrrole is a conductive polymer that is widely used in electrochemical applications. To identify the effects of different parameters on the synthesis of polypyrrole, an experimental design based on an orthogonal array L 9 (3 4 ) proposed by Taguchi was applied. The parameters investigated were the oxidant type, molar ratio of oxidant: pyrrole, reaction time and dopant concentration, whereas the response variables observed were the yield, particle size and conductivity. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) characterization was used to study the morphology characteristics of the polypyrrole particles. Based on the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and the results of analysis of variance (ANOVA), the molar ratio of oxidant: pyrrole and the oxidant type significantly affected the yield and conductivity of the synthesized polypyrrole particles.Keywords: design of experiment, conductive polymer, yield, particle size, conductivity Abstrak Polipirola merupakan polimer konduktif yang digunakan secara meluas dalam aplikasi elektrokimia. Bagi tujuan mengenal pasti kesan-kesan parameter yang berbeza pada sintesis polipirola, reka bentuk eksperimen berdasarkan ortogon L 9 (3 4 ) yang dicadangkan oleh Taguchi telah digunakan. Parameter yang dikaji ialah jenis oksidan, nisbah molar oksidan: pirola, masa tindak balas dan kepekatan pendopan, manakala pemboleh ubah sambutan yang diperhatikan adalah jumlah hasil, saiz zarah dan kekonduksian. Pencirian FESEM telah digunakan untuk mengkaji morfologi zarah polipirola. Berdasarkan nisbah isyarat-hingar (S/N) dan hasil analisis varians (ANOVA), nisbah molar oksidan: pirola dan jenis oksidan memberi kesan yang ketara kepada hasil dan kekonduksian dari sintesis polipirola.Kata kunci: reka bentuk eksperimen, polimer konduktif, jumlah hasil, saiz zarah, kekonduksian
IntroductionConducting polymers, such as polyaniline (PAni), polypyrrole (PPy), and polythiophene (PTh), have found many industrial applications due to their unique characteristics, such as the dual function of ionic and electronic conductivity, large surface area and good mechanical properties [1][2][3][4]. Among the conductive polymers, PPy has attracted much attention because of its high conductivity [5], good environmental stability [6], electrocatalytic activity [7] and ease of synthesis [8]. Therefore, it has been widely used in electrochemical applications (e.g., as an
