Abstract: In this study, electrically conductive paper was prepared by in situ polymerization of pyrrole in pulp suspension to further understand the conductivity of polypyrrole-coated conductive paper. The iron(Ⅲ) sulfosalicylate complex genereated by adding 5-sulfosalicylic acid solution to ferric chloride solution was used as a mild oxidant to replace ferric chloride. The conductivity and environmental stability of the samples prepared with the mild oxidant were improved to a certain degree. It was found that 5-sulfosalicylic acid did not only complex with ferric ions, but also act as dopant. In fact, p-toluenesulfonic acid used as dopant seems to be unnecessary. SEM and EDX analysis results showed that there were significant differences in the image brightness and doping levels of the samples prepared by different oxidant and dopant. Using purchased iron(Ⅲ) p-toluenesulfonate as both oxidant and dopant could not obtain the polypyrrole-coated conductive paper with good conductivity and environmental stability perhaps due to the low oxidizing ability of this compound. In addition, the effect of water during pulp storage operation on the conductivity was investigated. The results showed that pulp storage operation had no obvious negative influence on the conductivity of polypyrrole-coated paper.

Key words: conductive paper, polypyrrole, oxidant, pulp storage