Novel nanostructured star-shaped polythiophene, and its electrospun nanofibers with gelatin

Abstract

This paper describes the synthesis, characterization, and some physicochemical properties of a star-shaped polythiophene (S-PTh). For this purpose, the tannic acid (TA) was functionalized with 2-thiopheneacetic acid in the presence of N,N-dicyclohexyl carbodiimide (DCC), and dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as coupling agent and catalyst, respectively, to afford a thiophene-functionalized tannic acid macromonomer (ThTAM). The synthesized ThTAM was subsequently utilized in copolymerization with thiophene monomer by both chemical and electrochemical oxidation polymerization methods to produce nanostructured S-PTh. The synthesized S-PTh showed higher electrical conductivity and electroactivity than those of the homo-PTh (H-PTh) in both chemical and electrochemical polymerized samples, due to its large surface area, and spherical and three-dimensional structure. Moreover, the solution of the chemically synthesized S-PTh and gelatin was electrospun to produce uniform, conductive, and biocompatible nanofibers.