Electropolymerization onto flexible substrates for electronic applications

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10591435-B2
Application number	US-201515301085-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 3, 2015
Priority date	Apr 3, 2014
Publication date	Mar 17, 2020
Grant date	Mar 17, 2020

Abstract

Electropolymerized polymer or copolymer films on a conducting substrate (e.g., graphene) and methods of making such films. The films may be part of multilayer structures. The films can be formed by anodic or cathodic electropolymerization of monomers. The films and structures (e.g., multilayer structures) can be used in devices such as, for example, electrochromic devices, electrical-energy storage devices, photo-voltaic devices, field-effect transistor devices, electrical devices, electronic devices, energy-generation devices, and microfluidic devices.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A structure comprising:
a) a transparent conducting substrate comprising a first graphene layer disposed on substantially all of a surface of a substrate; and
b) a first electropolymerized polymer layer disposed on substantially all of the first graphene layer;
wherein the structure has a first color or is colorless, and the first color is blue.

2. The structure of claim 1 , wherein the transparent conducting substrate is a flexible substrate.

3. The structure of claim 2 , wherein the flexible substrate comprises poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-polystyrenesulfonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, or polystyrene.

4. The structure of claim 1 , further comprising a first electrolyte layer disposed on at least a portion of the first electropolymerized conducting polymer layer.

5. The structure of claim 4 , further comprising a second graphene layer disposed on at least a portion of the first electrolyte layer.

6. The structure of claim 5 , wherein a flexible transparent polymer layer is disposed on at least a portion of the second graphene layer.

7. The structure of claim 5 , wherein the second graphene layer is disposed on a flexible substrate.

8. The structure of claim 1 , wherein the electropolymerized layer is a polythiophene, polythiophene derivative, polypyrrole, polypyrole derivatives, polyfuran, polyfuran derivatives, polyaniline, polyaniline derivative, polyphenylenediamine, polyphenylenediamine derivative, or a copolymer thereof.

9. The structure of claim 1 , wherein the electropolymerized layer is a polymer of an organometallic compound, a coordination compound, or a copolymer thereof.

10. A method of forming a structure of claim 1 comprising:
contacting a graphene layer disposed on substantially all of a surface of a substrate with a monomer under anodic or cathodic electropolymerization conditions such that an electropolymerized layer is formed on at least a portion of the graphene layer.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the monomer is selected from the group consisting of:
3,4-(1-thiomethyl)ethylenedioxythiophene; N-methoxyphenylpyrrole (e.g., 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-pyrrole; N-phenylpyrrole; 3,4-ethylenedioxyselenophene; 3,4-propylenedioxypyrrole; 3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole; 3,4-dimethoxypyrrole; N-methylpyrrole; pyrrole; 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene; poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT); 3,4-dimethoxythiophene; 3-methylthiophene; thiophene; [tris-(4-vinyl-4′-methyl-2,2′-bipyridine)M] 2+ , where M is ruthenium, osmium, iron, cobalt, nickel, or rhenium, and combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the anodic or cathodic electropolymerization conditions comprise cycling between a first potential and a second potential two or more times at a constant or varying current or cycling between a first current and second current at a constant potential.

13. A device comprising the structure of claim 1 .

14. The device of claim 13 , wherein the device is an electrochromic device, electrical-energy storage device, photo-voltaic device, field-effect transistor device, electrical device, electronic device, or energy-generation device.

15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the device is an electrochromic device and the conducting substrate is glass.

16. The device of claim 15 , wherein the conducting substrate is transparent and the electropolymerized layer is transparent or the electropolymerized layers are transparent.

17. The device of claim 14 , wherein the device is a display, flexible display, light-emitting diode, sensor, battery, flexible battery, capacitor, flexible capacitor, supercapacitor or flexible capacitor.

18. The device of claim 13 , wherein the device is a microfluidic device.

19. The structure of claim 1 , wherein the substrate reversibly changes from colorless to a second color or changes from the first color to a second color via applying a potential to the substrate.

20. The structure of claim 19 , wherein the second color is chosen from blue, red, orange, and green.

21. A structure comprising:
a) a transparent conducting substrate comprising a first graphene layer disposed on substantially all of a surface of a substrate; and
b) a first electropolymerized polymer layer disposed on substantially all of the first graphene layer,
wherein the structure has a first color or is colorless when a first potential is applied and has a second color or is colorless when a second potential is applied.

22. The structure of claim 21 , wherein the first and/or second color is chosen from blue, red, orange, and green.

Assignees

• Univ Cornell

Inventors

• Conte Sean
• Rodriguez-Calero Gabriel G
• Tan Cen
• Hernandez-Burgos Kenneth
• Abruna Hector D
• Ritzert Nicole
• Ralph Daniel C
• Li Wan

Classifications

• H01M4/1399

  of electrodes based on electro-active polymers · CPC title

• H01M10/02

  Details (of electrodes H01M4/00; of non-active parts H01M50/00) · CPC title

• B01L2200/12

  Specific details about manufacturing devices · CPC title

• G01N27/302 Primary

  pH sensitive, e.g. quinhydron, antimony or hydrogen electrodes (ion selective electrodes G01N27/333, glass electrodes G01N27/36) · CPC title

• H01M4/0404

  by coating on electrode collectors · CPC title