Development of an inherently hydrophobic ultra thin conductive coating for high performance plastics

在这个为期两年的项目中，Timothy Bender教授(化学工程和应用化学)和Dwight Seferos教授(化学)的实验室将与SABIC创新塑料公司(SABIC-IP，Cobourg)合作，开发一种透明的高导电超薄涂层，用于基于高性能塑料Ultem和Lexan的高性能塑料片材和薄膜。 虽然已知有导电薄膜涂层，但初步调查表明，它们与Cobourg工厂生产的高性能Ultem和Lexan薄片和薄膜不兼容。我们已经确定，目前商用的PEDOT：PSS双组分涂料的亲水性使其与Ultem和Lexan的疏水表面不兼容。众所周知，PEDOT：PSS在电磁光谱的可见光区不透明，因此使其(电势)在导电性和透明度之间取得了平衡。 因此，在这个项目中，我们将开发一个PEDOT的替代品：PSS，它与Ultem和Lexan本质上兼容。我们将采取多种方法来设计这一替代方案，包括开发PEDOT和PSS的替代方案。PEDOT的替代品将专注于提高导电性，同时在可见光区域实现高透明度。PSS的替代品将专注于使涂层具有固有的疏水性，同时保持其稳定性、保质期和涂层的易用性。 SABIC-IP Cobourg将同时研究Ultem和Lexan的定制配方，这些配方可以挤出具有良好的表面特性和拓扑结构，使PEDOT：PSS替代品能够平滑和均匀地涂覆。

During this two-year project, the laboratories of Professor Timothy Bender (Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry) and Professor Dwight Seferos (Chemistry) will be working together with SABIC Innovative Plastics (SABIC-IP, Cobourg) to develop a transparent highly-conductive ultra-thin coating for the high performance plastic sheets and films based on the high performance plastics Ultem and Lexan. While there are known conductive thin film coatings, initial investigations have shown that they are not mutually compatible with the high performance Ultem and Lexan sheets and films produced at the Cobourg site. We have determined that the hydrophilic nature of the two component current commercially available brand of coatings known as PEDOT:PSS makes them incompatible with the hydrophobic surface of Ultem and Lexan. It is also known that PEDOT:PSS is not transparent in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum therefore making its (potential) use a balance between conductivity and transparency. Therefore during this project we will develop an alternative to PEDOT:PSS that is inherently compatible with Ultem and Lexan. We will take multiple approaches to engineering this alternative including the development of alternatives to both PEDOT and PSS. Alternatives to PEDOT will focus on increasing conductivity while achieving high transparency in the visible region. Alternatives to PSS will focus on making the coatings inherently hydrophobic while maintaining their stability, shelf life and ease of coating. SABIC-IP Cobourg will simultaneously investigate custom formulations of Ultem and Lexan that can be extruded with favorable surface properties and topologies that enable smooth and uniform coating of the PEDOT:PSS alternatives.