Twenty-year aging study of electrically conductive polypyrrole films

The stability of heterocyclic conjugated polymer films doped with various derivatives of arylsulfonates was investigated over a 20-year period. All polypyrrole films were polymerized electrochemically without special precautions to exclude air, placed into polyethylene pouches, and stored to preserve against extreme temperature changes and exposure to light. The electrical conductivity of these films has been shown to change no more than one order of magnitude over this long period of time suggesting polypyrroles doped with these anions do in fact provide an added benefit in producing relatively stable conductive polymer films.