# US 2012/0073027 A1 · Elastomeric Composites with Tether-Containing, Conducting Polymers for Nanoscale Diffusion Control

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- Number: US 2012/0073027 A1
- Document ID: US20120073027A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/296,920
- Filed: 2011-11-15
- Published: 2012-03-29
- Earliest claimed: 2008-09-22
- Assignees: The Government of the United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
- Inventors: Brett D. Martin; Martin H. Moore; Banahalli R. Ratna; Gusphyl Justin; Jawad Naciri
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20120073027A1

## CPC

- C07D 333/38: Carbon atoms having three bonds to hetero atoms with at the most one bond to halogen, e.g. ester or nitrile radicals
- C08G 61/126: {with a five-membered ring containing one sulfur atom in the ring}
- C08G 65/3324: {cyclic}
- C08G 65/3344: {containing oxygen in addition to sulfur}
- C08G 65/3346: {having sulfur bound to carbon and oxygen}
- C08G 65/3348: {containing nitrogen in addition to sulfur}
- H01G 9/028: Organic semiconducting electrolytes, e.g. TCNQ
- C08G 2261/135: Cross-linked structures
- C08G 2261/1424: containing ether groups, including alkoxy
- C08G 2261/1426: containing carboxy groups (COOH) and/or -C(=O)O-moieties
- C08G 2261/1432: containing amide groups
- C08G 2261/1452: containing sulfonyl or sulfonate-groups
- C08G 2261/147: Side-chains with other heteroatoms in the side-chain
- C08G 2261/44: Electrochemical polymerisation, i.e. oxidative or reductive coupling
- C08G 2261/516: ion-conductive
- C08G 2650/50: containing nitrogen, e.g. polyetheramines or Jeffamines(r)
- C07D: HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS (macromolecular compounds C08)
- C08G: MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED OTHERWISE THAN BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING UNSATURATED CARBON-TO-CARBON BONDS
- H01G: CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE (selection of specified materials as dielectric H01B3/00; capacitors having potential barriers H10D1/62, H10K10/10)

## Abstract

A redox-active conductive polymer includes a charged tether. An interpenetrating network including such a conducting polymer can be switched between two states of diffusivity (porosity) by application of a voltage. Such a material can be useful in breathable protective clothing, controlled release, intelligent sensing/filtration, novel separation processes, nanomanufacturing, and other areas.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A material comprising:
an interpenetrating polymer network comprising:
a compound having the formula:
wherein X is a sulfonate salt, a phosphonate salt, a carboxylate salt, or a boronate salt and wherein n is an integer from 2 to 10;
wherein the material repeatably switches between an open state and an closed state upon receiving a voltage.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The material of claim 1, wherein said material exhibits an ion diffusivity in said open state of at least 350 times greater than in said closed state as measured by cyclic voltammetry.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The material of claim 1, further comprising a support matrix of polyurethane.

### Claim 4

A material comprising:
an interpenetrating polymer network comprising:
a compound having the formula:
wherein X is a sulfonate salt, a phosphonate salt, a carboxylate salt, a cyclic moiety comprising a negatively-charged nitrogen, or a boronate salt and wherein n is an integer from 2 to 10;
wherein the material repeatably switches between an open state and an closed state upon receiving a voltage.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The material of claim 4, further comprising a support matrix and a room temperature ionic liquid.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The material of claim 5, wherein said support matrix is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, nylon, wool, polyester, cotton, and combinations thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 4)

The material of claim 4, wherein said ion diffusivity in said open state is at least 200 times greater than in said closed state.

### Claim 8 (depends on 4)

The material of claim 4, wherein said switching is operable in the absence of a liquid electrolyte.

### Claim 9 (depends on 4)

The material of claim 4, wherein in said open state, the material is effective to allow water vapor transport of as 1400 g/m2 day or greater under conditions of 40° C. and 50% relative humidity.

### Claim 10 (depends on 4)

The material of claim 4, wherein said compound is selected from the group consisting of poly(3-{2-[2-(2-{2-[(thiophene-3-carbonyl)-amino]-ethoxy}-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-propane-1-sulfonic acid) and poly(3-{2-[2-(2-{2-[(thiophene-3-carbonyl)-amino]-ethoxy}-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-ethane-1-sulfonic acid).

### Claim 11 (depends on 4)

A garment incorporating the material of claim 4.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The garment of claim 10, further comprising a source of electrical power and a switch.

### Claim 13 (depends on 4)

A filter for gas and/or liquid incorporating the material of claim 4.

### Claim 14

A method of modulating the diffusivity of a material, the method comprising:
reducing the material to decrease its diffusivity and oxidizing the material to increase its diffusivity,
wherein the material comprises a compound having the formula:
wherein X is a sulfonate salt, a phosphonate salt, a carboxylate salt, a cyclic moiety comprising a negatively-charged nitrogen, or a boronate salt and wherein n is an integer from 2 to 10.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein said reducing and oxidizing are accomplished by the application of an electric voltage.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein said compound is selected from the group consisting of poly(3-{2-[2-(2-{2-[(thiophene-3-carbonyl)-amino]-ethoxy}-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-propane-1-sulfonic acid) and poly(3-{2-[2-(2-{2-[(thiophene-3-carbonyl)-amino]-ethoxy}-ethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethoxy}-ethane-1-sulfonic acid).

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein said material further comprises a support matrix and a room temperature ionic liquid.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The method of claim 17, wherein said support matrix is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane, nylon, wool, polyester, cotton, and combinations thereof.