MULTIFILAMENT SPINNING OF PEDOT:PSS CONDUCTIVE FIBERS TOWARD ELECTRONIC TEXTILE APPLICATIONS

The University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research has been at the forefront of research in the development of single filament wet spun poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) fibers. PEDOT:PSS is an intrinsically conductive polymer which has enormous potential in fiber form for use in flexible transistors, supercapacitors, sensors, and thermoelectric devices, to name a few. Several such applications have been briefly demonstrated at UK CAER, but further research and development is bottlenecked by the inability to spin sufficient fiber quantities. Currently PEDOT:PSS fiber spinning is limited to single filament (not only at UK CAER, but among other top PEDOT:PSS research groups worldwide). The PSS counterion is hydrophilic and has been noted to promote self-healing in PEDOT:PSS films. However, this property results in the fusion of PEDOT:PSS filaments when attempting traditional multifilament wet spinning approaches where filaments exit a multi-capillary spinneret and come together in the coagulation bath to form a tow. The proposed novel approach of upward parallel spinning of multiple filaments keeps all filaments parallel until dry to prevent fiber fusion, after which they are joined together as a multifilament tow on the spool. The successful development of this spinning method will permit the production, for the first time ever reported, of PEDOT:PSS continuous tow consisting of at least 10 individual filaments. Data from this seed grant will be used to apply to the DOD to gain federal funding and further scale this technology to enable more widespread and significant studies on the fibers and their applications.