Abstract
This report focuses on recent developments using bipolar electrochemistry as an effective tool for the fabrication of gradient polymer surfaces. The electrochemical doping and reactions of conducting polymers under an applied potential distribution using bipolar electrodes have been carried out to prepare conducting polymers with composition gradients. Indirect electrolysis using an electrogenerated metal catalyst on bipolar electrodes successfully afforded gradually modified polymer surfaces and gradient polymer brushes using vinyl monomers. The newly designed cylinder bipolar electrode system is available for site-selective applications of electric potentials, which produced electrochemical patterning of conducting polymer films.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B: 23750172, A: 26708013) (JSPS) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas ‘New Polymeric Materials Based on Element-Blocks’ (25102511, 15H00724) (MEXT), the Yazaki Memorial Foundation for Science and Technology, the Kao Foundation for Arts and Science, the Murata Science Foundation, the Iketani Science and Technology Foundation, the Ogasawara Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Engineering and the Kato Foundation for Promotion of Science. I thank Professors Toshio Fuchigami and Ikuyoshi Tomita (Tokyo Institute of Technology), as well as Mahito Atobe (Yokohama National University), for their kind assistance and fruitful discussions.
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Inagi, S. Fabrication of gradient polymer surfaces using bipolar electrochemistry. Polym J 48, 39–44 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2015.73
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2015.73
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