The Effect of Electropolymerization Conditions on the Physicochemical and Biological Properties of Polypyrrole-Modified Activated Carbon

Abstract—The effects that conditions of pyrrole electropolymerization on Norit RXS activated carbon (AC) have on the physicochemical and porometric properties and biocompatibility of resulting composite materials are studied. Using the method of standard contact porosimetry, we show that polypyrrole deposited onto AC samples subjected to preliminary conditioning in a pyrrole solution has almost no effect on the distribution of their pore volume with respect to the pore radius, but it does influence their hydrophilic properties; i.e., a longer duration of conditioning makes the surface of composite samples more hydrophilic. The fact that our polypyrrole/AC composites display electrochemical activity, while the initial AC does not, is observed for the first time. This phenomenon is evidence in favor of the formation of electrochemically active complexes on the surface of synthesized composites, and the hypothetical composition of the complexes can be presented as [surface compounds]/[intermediate products of pyrrole electropolymerization]. The considerable influence that microquantities of polypyrrole present on the AC surface (at around 0.13%) have on its electrochemical, hydrophilic/hydrophobic, and adsorption properties suggests that the aforementioned complexes on the surface of composites display electrocatalytic behavior. In addition, the influence of electropolymerization conditions on the activity of composites toward blood cells is revealed.