Design of Potassium‐Selective Mixed Ion/Electron Conducting Polymers

Abstract

An approach providing cation‐selective poly‐(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene)(PEDOT):polyelectrolyte‐mixed conductors is presented in this communication based on the structural modification of this ambivalent (ionic and electronic conductive) polymer complex. First, an 18‐crown‐6 moiety is integrated into the styrene sulfonate monomer structure as a specific metal cation scavenger particularly targeting K+ versus Na+ detection. This newly functionalized monomer is characterized by 1H NMR titration to evaluate the ion selectivity. Aqueous PEDOT dispersion inks containing the polymeric ion‐selective moieties are designed and their electrical and electrochemical properties analyzed. These biocompatible inks are the first proof‐of‐concept step towards ion selectivity in view of their interfacing with biological cells and microorgans of interest in the field of biosensors and physiology.

Vertical Organic Electrochemical Transistors and Electronics for Low Amplitude Micro‐Organ Signals

“…[ 13 , 40 ] Indeed, PEDOT:PSS has also been proven innocuous in tests on insulin‐secreting cells. [ 41 ] In addition, transient influences of the electrically biased polymer on cell activity have to be ruled out. Interestingly, when using different electric biases we did not observe any change in frequency or signal propagation of the biological signals in excitable cells such as cardiomyocytes or islet cells.…”

Organic Electrochemical Transistors (OECTs) Toward Flexible and Wearable Bioelectronics

“…Recently, it has been shown that targeted properties can be achieved by chemically tuning the polyelectrolyte structure (Figure 6, blue panel). In this example, K + monovalent cation selectivity was observed in the derivative aqueous PEDOT inks when the appropriate cation scavenger was integrated into the polyanion structure [66]. This property, coupled with the high capacitance and biocompatibility of these materials, can be exploited in ion-sensitive applications using OECTs as sensors.…”

“…OECT devices are promising for "translation" of small changes in ion concentration to large changes in electrical current, a property which is really exploited in bioelectronics applications. These [30,31,33,38,51,59,64,66] and other thiophene derivatives [32,37,70,71,78,80]; n-type materials based on thiophene-based building block modifications or ladder polymers [87][88][89][90][91]. Donor-acceptor (D-A) strategy such as integration of rigidizer fluoroaromatic rings or heterojunctions based on the combination of D-A polymers [84,85].…”

“…Summary of representative OECT materials. Chemical structures of: p-type materials such as PEDOT derivatives including the most used material PEDOT:PSS[30,31,33,38,51,59,64,66] and other thiophene derivatives[32,37,70,71,78,80]; n-type materials based on thiophene-based building block modifications or ladder polymers[87][88][89][90][91]. Donor-acceptor (D-A) strategy such as integration of rigidizer fluoroaromatic rings or heterojunctions based on the combination of D-A polymers[84,85].…”

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Electrosynthesis in the Presence of Mixtures of Flexible-Chain and Rigid-Chain Polyelectrolytes

“…They work as counterions for PEDOT chains and stabilize the insoluble charged PEDOT in aqueous dispersion. There are a number of PEs used for chemical EDOT polymerization for improving its solubility and modifying the PEDOT properties [4,[6][7][8][9]. The most popular PE is polystyrenesulfonate (PSS), which forms with PEDOT a blend best known as PEDOT:PSS.…”