Coating of leather with dye-containing antibacterial and conducting polypyrrole

In the search for functional organic biomaterials, leather constituted by collagen fibers was coated with a conducting polymer, polypyrrole. The coating was carried out during the oxidation of pyrrole in an aqueous solution of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) in the presence of five organic dyes: crystal violet, neutral red, methyl orange, acriflavine, and methylene blue. This technique ensures the uniform coating of collagen fibers with polypyrrole and incorporation of organic dyes. The surface morphology was observed with scanning electron microscopy and the transverse profile, reflecting the penetration of the conducting phase into the leather body with optical microscopy. While the polypyrrole coating endows leather with electrical conductivity, organic dyes are expected to affect the polymer morphology and to provide an antibacterial effect. The lowest sheet resistance and antibacterial activity were obtained with crystal violet. This type of coating was characterized in more detail. Infrared spectroscopy confirmed the coating of collagen fibers with polypyrrole and dye incorporation. Mechanical properties were extended to the cyclic bending of the leather at various angles over 5000 cycles. The relative resistance changes were a few percent, indicating good electrical stability during repeated mechanical stress.Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic [FRC RO70200003025/2102]Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, MŠMT: FRC RO70200003025/210

Tuning of morphological and antibacterial properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):peroxodisulfate by methyl violet

This study demonstrates a one-step synthesis of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) in the presence of the methyl violet (MV) dye. The structural properties of PEDOT:peroxodisulfate were studied using Raman and MALDI-TOF spectroscopies. The use of the MV dye in the polymerization process resulted in a change in the typical irregular morphology of PEDOT:peroxodisulfate, leading to the formation of spherical patterns. SEM and TEM analyses revealed that increasing the dye concentration can produce larger spherical aggregates probably due to the hydrophobic and π–π interactions. These larger aggregates hindered the charge transport and reduced the electrical conductivity. Interestingly, at higher dye concentrations (0.05 and 0.075 M), the PEDOT:peroxodisulfate/MV films exhibited significantly improved antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Furthermore, the PEDOT:peroxodisulfate films with the incorporated MV dye exhibited a well-defined and repeatable redox behavior. The remarkable amalgamation of their optical, electrochemical and antibacterial properties provides the PEDOT:peroxodisulfate/MV materials with an immensely diverse spectrum of applications, including in optical sensors and medical devices.DKRVO, (RP/CPS/2022/001); Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy, MŠMT; Akademie Věd České Republiky, AV ČR, (RVO 61389013

Fotogenerace nosičů náboje v polymerních nanokompozitech

Polymer nanocomposites seem to be promising systems for solar cell application with polythiophene acting as photosensitizer and charge transport medium. The electrophoretic deposition proved to be suitable method for preparation nanostructured core/shell functional layers. The simplicity, fast operation rate and the possibility of covering surfaces of irregular shape, as well as a good quality of prepared films are the major advantages of the method

Book of Abstracts and Programme. Polymers and Organic Materials for Electronics and Photonics: Science for Applications. Prague Meeting on Macromolecules /81./

The book of abstracts contains the summary of 8 plenary and 24 invited lectures, accompanied by 38 oral contributions and 88 posters presented at the conference. The main areas covered were the design, synthesis, processing and characterization of novel functional organic materials and polymers, electrical, photoelectrical, optical and nonlinear optical phenomena, organic and hybrid electronic and photonic devices, and advanced materials and composites for biosensors, bioelectronics, and biophotonics. Particular session was dedicated to applications in flexible and wearable organic electronics and smart packaging. Due to big expectations in the application field of large area printed electronics, wearable devices, printed RFIDs, displays, solar cells and sensors there is a growing demand to prepare polymers with better defined morphology and chemical and structural stability. Hence, improvement in the molecular design and new synthetic and processing routes is strongly required. A special emphasis was given to attract the scientists from the application field of printed electronics to provide a necessary feedback for further development of new materials with desired properties

Polymer nanocomposites for photovoltaic application

The importance of the nanostructure co-continuity for a good performance of organic solar cells was demonstrated on two systems: (i) based on TiO2/polymer nanocomposite and (ii) polymer with crystallized low-molecular weight organic compound

Funkční polymery pro aplikace v solárních článcích

Two alternative systems of polymer based solar cell structures were prepared: 1) based on the acceptor modified .pi.-conjugated polymer and 2) composed of a functional polymer - inorganic semiconductor nanocomposite, and their photoelectrical properties were tested. The simple electrodeposition method, providing a large area heterojunction distributed within a bulk of the polymer nanocomposite, was developed

Fotoelektricky aktivní polymerní nanokompozity

We established a new electrophoretic deposition method for the fabrication of photoelectrically sensitive structures, in which the core/shell nanoparticles dispersed in an organic solvent are deposited on a semitransparent conductive substrate under an external electric field

Polymer nanostructures in optoelectronics

Tutorial lecture for high-school teachers on polymer applications in optoelectronics - physical principles, examples of applications

5th ECNP Young Scientist Conference & 9th ECNP Short Course on Functional polymers. Book of Abstracts

The abstract book of the 5th ECNP Young Scientist Conference & 9th ECNP Short Course on Functional polymers contains the abstracts of 7 tutorial lectures of experts on various areas of polymer science, and 32 oral contributions and 7 posters of young scientists participating at the conference. In the welcome address the roles of the ECNP and of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry ASCR are summarized