Conducting polymer-grafted carbon materials

The immobilisation of antibacterial coatings onto conductive materials such as stainless steel or carbon fibre used in orthopaedic implants was investigated by two methods. The formation of thin films by electrodeposition of polypyrrole doped with polyanions able to complex silver ions, and their characterisation by SEM, FTIR and microbiological testing is described. The alternative method, involving chemical grafting of a thin film of a quatemaiy ammonium polymer using a surface initiator, is also discussed. 2 refs. 

Conversely, the presence of a redox group of low oxidation potential on the monomer may sometimes limit or inhibit the electropolymerization. In the first steps in this direction, redox groups such as Fe(bipyri-dine>3 (40) [106], benzoquinone (41) [107], anthraqui-none (42) [108], or viologen (43) [109] were grafted to the thiophene ring via spacers equivalent to two to five carbons. While the electrochemical signature of the attached group was observed in each case, these polymers were not characterized as bulk materials, and no conductivity data were reported. 

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