Removing impurities from polythiophene
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsAlan Toth, Tamara Perez-Cruz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Impurities are removed from polythiophene by mixing a composition comprising polythiophene, water and an organic liquid at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene; allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase; adding water to recovered organic phase and mixing the resulting composition at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene; allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase; and allowing polythiophene solid to precipitate from recovered organic phase.
Claims20
A method for removing impurities from polythiophene, comprising:
- (a) mixing a composition comprising the polythiophene, water and an organic liquid at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene;
- (b) in the composition formed in (a), allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase;
- (c) adding water to recovered organic phase and mixing the resulting composition at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene;
- (d) in the composition formed in (c), allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase;
- and
- (e) allowing polythiophene solid to precipitate from recovered organic phase.
A method for removing impurities from polythiophene, comprising:
- (a) mixing a composition comprising the polythiophene, water and an organic liquid at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene;
- (b) in the composition formed in (a), allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase;
- (c) adding water to recovered organic phase and mixing the resulting composition at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene;
- (d) in the composition formed in (c), allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase;
- (e) using the organic phase recovered in (d), repeating (c) and (d) at least one time;
- (f) adding a basic aqueous solution to organic phase recovered in
- (e) and mixing the resulting composition at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene;
- (g) in the composition formed in (f), allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase;
- (h) using the organic phase recovered in (g), repeating (c) and (d) at least one time;
- and
- (i) allowing polythiophene solid to precipitate from organic phase recovered in (h).
A method for preparing polythiophene, comprising:
- (a) polymerizing thiophene monomer and/or an oligomer of thiophene monomer in an organic solvent in the presence of metal halide to form polythiophene;
- (b) mixing a composition comprising polythiophene formed in (a), water and an organic liquid at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene;
- (c) in the composition formed in (b), allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase;
- (d) adding water to recovered organic phase and mixing the resulting composition at a temperature at which the organic liquid dissolves the polythiophene;
- (e) in the composition formed in (d), allowing an aqueous phase to separate from an organic phase and recovering organic phase;
- and
- (f) allowing polythiophene solid to precipitate from recovered organic phase.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.