| Autor: |
Jayaram AK; Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom., Pitsalidis C; Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom., Tan E; Department of Physics and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom., Moysidou CM; Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom., De Volder MFL; Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom., Kim JS; Department of Physics and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom., Owens RM; Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. |
| Abstrakt: |
Conducting polymer scaffolds combine the soft-porous structures of scaffolds with the electrical properties of conducting polymers. In most cases, such functional systems are developed by combining an insulating scaffold matrix with electrically conducting materials in a 3D hybrid network. However, issues arising from the poor electronic properties of such hybrid systems, hinder their application in many areas. This work reports on the design of a 3D electroactive scaffold, which is free of an insulating matrix. These 3D polymer constructs comprise of a water soluble conducting polymer (PEDOT:PSS) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The insertion of the MWCNTs in the 3D polymer matrix directly contributes to the electron transport efficiency, resulting in a 7-fold decrease in resistivity values. The distribution of CNTs, as characterized by SEM and Raman spectroscopy, further define the micro- and nano-structural topography while providing active sites for protein attachment, thereby rendering the system suitable for biological/sensing applications. The resulting scaffolds, combine high porosity, mechanical stability and excellent conducting properties, thus can be suitable for a variety of applications ranging from tissue engineering and biomedical devices to (bio-) energy storage. |
