Poly[1-[4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenylazo)benzenesulfonamido]-1,2-ethanediyl, sodium salt] (PAZO) exhibits a number of unique physical properties, which are important for diverse applications of this functional polymer in photonics, optoelectronics, memory devices and sensors. A conceptually new strategy has been utilized for the fabrication of thin films of PAZO using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The deposition kinetics and mechanism have been investigated and the advantages of EPD have been discussed. Our new findings in the surface and interface chemistry allowed for the development of surface modification methods, which were utilized for the electrosteric dispersion and EPD of MnO 2 nanofibers, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles and PPy coated MWCNT. New method has been developed for the fabrication of PPy coated MWCNT, using bromothymol blue sodium salt as a dopant for PPy and dispersant for MWCNT. The aromatic PAZO monomers, containing chelating salicylate ligands provided multiple adsorption sites for PAZO adsorption on different materials and allowed for their efficient electrosteric dispersion. Another major finding was the possibility of efficient deposition of composites, using PAZO as a co-dispersant for MnO 2 nanofibers and MWCNT. The MnO 2 nanofibers, MWCNT, PPy nanoparticles, PPy coated MWCNT and composites, deposited by EPD, were used for energy storage in electrodes of electrochemical supercapacitors. Testing results showed beneficial effect of PAZO for the dispersion and EPD of advanced supercapacitor materials. The results of this investigation paved the way for EPD of other composites utilizing properties of different functional materials and unique physical properties of PAZO.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.