Method of evaluating the ionic conductance of polypyrrole films and improvement of ionic conductance of polyethylene oxide-incorporated polypyrrole composite

In this study, stainless steel electrode alternate current (ac) impedance associated with direct current (dc) polarization measurements were proposed to successfully evaluate the contribution of ionic conductance (tion) to the bulk conductance of polypyrrole (PPy) in various relative humidities (RH). The fraction of tion, defined as the ratio of (1/Ri) to ((1/Ri)+(1/Re)), was used as a quantitative index for the contribution of ionic conductance. The results showed that the tion are 0.15, 0.29, and 0.46 for PPy in 5, 25, and 50% RH, respectively. Also, the tion can increase from 0.12 to 0.22 in dry nitrogen after PPy was modified with polyethylene oxide (PEO).