The B. F. Goodrich Company

Ephraim Buhks

Ronald E Myers

A conductive composite is formed which consists of a host polymer and polypyrrole ('PP') deposited on and within the host polymer. Instead of using a conductor as a starting substrate, an insulating polymer is at least partially impregnated with sufficient pyrrole (PY) monomer to become conductive after the PY is polymerized. The polymerization is a chemical oxidative polymerization ('dip-polymerization') which, if carried out under anhydrous conditions, transforms the insulating polymer into a semiconductive composite consisting essentially of the host polymer containing a first species of conductive PP and a Group VIII metal halide counterion; thereafter, the semiconductive composite, containing the counterion, is used to electrodeposit on it a second species of conductive PP. The composite with the two species of PP and anions is used for EMI shielding, and in a host of applications where a lightweight organic resistance heating element is desired, for example in de-icers for the wings of an airplane, to melt snow on roof-tops and in gutters, and to warm a frigid seat in a vehicle.

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North Royalton, OH, United States of America

Ephraim Buhks