113 Electropolymerized Organic Mixed Ionic-Electronic Conductors

Faculty Mentor: Connor Bischak (Chemistry, University of Utah)

Organic mixed ionic electronic conductors (OMIECs) are conjugated polymer systems that conduct both ions and electrons. They are promising materials for biosensors, neuromorphic computing platforms, and energy storage devices. An obstacle for these new materials is the lack of understanding of the fundamental processes that underlie operation, namely the coupled dynamics of ion motion, electron transport, and structural changes. My work involves the electropolymerization and characterization of thiophene-based polymers and copolymers. One advantage of electropolymerized materials is that they do not require bulky side chains to dissolve in organic solvents, allowing them to hold more charge per volume. Using electropolymerization, we synthesized several polythiophenes with different side chain chemistries. We investigated ion injection kinetics in these materials using spectroelectrochemistry and found that injection kinetics depend on the identity of the electrolyte. We also characterize their morphology with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), along with grazing incidence wide angle x-ray scattering (GIWAXS). Electropolymerized OMIECs may play an important role in the advancement of OMIEC-based technologies due to their unique morphologies and ease of synthesis.