EQCM study of the ion exchange behaviour of polypyrrole with different counterions in different electrolytes

The charging and discharging processes of conducting polymers are accompanied by ion exchange between the polymer and the electrolyte. The type, size and valency of the incorporated counterion and the ions in the solution have a tremendous influence on the ion exchange properties of the conducting polymer. Therefore, the ion exchange behaviour of polypyrrole (PPy) has been investigated in dependence on the counterion incorporated during synthesis and the ions in the electrolyte solution using an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Based on these investigations, a generalised scheme is derived, which allows the prediction of the ion exchange behaviour of polypyrrole for different counterions and different electrolyte compositions.