Electrospinning of Electroconductive Water-Resistant Nanofibers of PEDOT–PSS, Cellulose Nanofibrils and PEO: Fabrication, Characterization, and Cytocompatibility

Abstract

Electrically conductive composite nanofibers were fabricated using poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly­(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT–PSS) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) via the electrospinning technique. Poly­(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was used to assist the electrospinning process, and poly­(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether was used to induce chemical cross-linking, enabling stability of the formed fibrous mats in water. The experimental parameters regarding the electrospinning polymer dispersion and electrospinning process were carefully studied to achieve a reproducible method to obtain bead-free nanofibrous mats with high stability after water contact, with an electrical conductivity of 13 ± 5 S m–1, thus making them suitable for bioelectrochemical applications. The morphology of the electrospun nanofibers was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and the C/S ratio was determined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Cyclic voltammetric studies showed that the PEDOT–PSS/CNF/PEO composite fibers exhibited high electroactivity and high stability in water for at least two months. By infrared spectroscopy, the slightly modified fiber morphology after water contact was demonstrated to be due to dissolution of some part of the PEO in the fiber structure. The biocompatibility of the PEDOT–PSS/CNF/PEO composite fibers when used as an electroconductive substrate to immobilize microalgae and cyanobacteria in a photosynthetic bioelectrochemical cell was also demonstrated.

Combining Electrospinning and Electrode Printing for the Fabrication of Stretchable Organic Electrochemical Transistors

“…Different fabrication processes have been developed to make the mechanical properties of PEDOT compatible for its use in wearable electronics, while preserving its intrinsic conductivity. Strategies towards this end include depositing on a pre-strained elastomeric substrate [16], the Kirigami method [17,18], and electrospinning [19][20][21]. In the latter, non-woven fibers are formed by applying a high voltage bias between a given collecting surface and a polymer solution.…”

“…However, blending these insulating polymers in the electrospinning mixture generally reduces the overall conductivity of the resulting non-woven mat. While electrospun conductive fibers are possible with carrier polymers [19,20], the correlation between the composition of the electrospinning solution and the resulting conductivity of the electrospun fiber mats remains relatively undefined.…”

Electrospinning based on benign solvents: current definitions, implications and strategies

“…147 Cellulose nanofibers, a polythiophene and an epoxy-crosslinker were added by Latonen et al to a PEO solution to produce conductive biocompatible fibers. 148 A similar system was previously reported, which showcased successfully encapsulated intact thylakoid vesicles and correlated photo-induced currents and pH-changes. 149 This approach required EtOH as co-solvent, which was also the case in the study concerning dispersion-spinning of thermos-responsive polyacrylamide(PAAm)/CS microgels by Borges and coworkers.…”

Review on PEDOT:PSS-Based Conductive Fabric

“…144 PEDOT:PSS can be spun into a conductive fiber or filament or can be produced during wet spinning 145,146 or electrospinning of fibers. 147 Zhang et al 148 fabricated highly electrically conductive PEDOT:PSS fibers using the wet-spinning method, as shown in Figure 11a. H 2 SO 4 was used as the treatment agent, which enabled low fiber density.…”