Alkoxysulfonate-functionalized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) hydrogels

Conducting polymer hydrogels based on alkoxysulfonate-functionalized poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) have been synthesized via oxidative coupling polymerization. Formation of hydrogels from zero dimensional (0D) monomer micelles to three dimensional (3D) hydrogels with two dimensional (2D) nanosheets as the building blocks and dimension change of the building blocks of the resulting hydrogels from 0D nanoparticles to 2D nanosheets induced by altering the reaction temperature or initial monomer concentration have been disclosed. A synthetic strategy for the synthesis of the conducting polymer hydrogels based on simultaneous use of one chemical as an oxidant and one multivalent metal ion as an ionic crosslinker has been developed, and metal ions used have significant effect on the morphology of the resulting hydrogels. In addition, the as-prepared conducting polymer hydrogels possess good electrochemical capacity, and exhibit selective adsorption and controllable release towards some dye molecules.