LAUSR

ABSTRACT Flaxseed and guar gums were studied for their potential to produce in water stable viscous fluids loaded with poly(styrene sulfonate) PSSNa and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT):PSS as hydrogels or viscous ink composite materials. In case of the composite hydrogels, their contents and mechanical behaviors were analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy and rheology respectively. Once dried on a glassy carbon electrode, for a sample containing PEDOT:PSS, the morphology of the thin layer was observed by FE-SEM for monitoring the quality of the coating. Later, for further practical reasons, performant working electrodes were also prepared from these hydrogels simply by casting on a small piece of carbon paper. PEDOT electropolymerization were tried using a coating made of PSSNa in mixture with one of the polysaccharides. This step showed some difficulties due to the enhancement of the hydrophilic character of the carbon paper surface. Then, a definitive improvement of a direct electropolymerization of PEDOT was permitted by using another type of coating material always involving the previous guar gum-PSSNa composite reinforced with 4 wt % of exfoliated graphite powder in order to enhance both hydrophobicity and adhesion of the electropolymerized PEDOT. Finally, additional cyclic voltammetry experiences such as Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy were carried out to identify two of our most promising candidates of PEDOT:PSS based electroconductive materials.