The introduction of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) into a bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gel as an electrical conductor for various applications.

Abstract

The International Energy Agency (IEA) shows that energy produced by solar power has greatly increased and that the need for grid energy storage with batteries also has greatly increased. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a low cost and environmentally friendly solar cell. The limited surface area of these solar cells results in fast recombination of electrons thus reducing the efficiency. The relative small surface area of lithium-ion batteries increases the diffusion limitations of these batteries; resulting in a limited charging performance at high current. Bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (Bijels) could be a low cost, high surface area template for a solar cell or battery with the ability to exchange chemicals between phases. The common ground is the need for an electrical conductor; therefore, the research question will be: to which extend can we introduce Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) into a silica bijel system forming a conductive bijel? This research question was investigated by using a model system and a bijel system which were investigated using timelapse, zeta-potential, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), confocal and conductivity measurements. The model system found that the polymerization speed of PEDOT and change in zeta-potential of the silica particles is dependent on the oxidizer. The SEM-EDX confirmed the formation and electrostatic adsorption on the silica particles. The polymerization from the water phase of the bijel resulted in a decrease of polarity of the silica surface. The addition of pre-polymerized EDOT was sufficient to keep the structure open and increase the conductivity significantly. The concentration increase of an oil-soluble oxidizer increased the conductivity and gave more control over the polymerization. This research extends our knowledge of the introduction of PEDOT into the bijel system and is an experimental stepping stone for future fundamental research. Considerably more work will need to be done to determine the effects of PEDOT polymerization to the bijel system.