DETERMINATION OF THE THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY OF POLYPYRROLE OVER THE TEMPERATURE-RANGE 280-K-335-K

Samples of polypyrrole were synthesised under galvanostatic conditions to produce films possessing a range of electrical conductivity from 10(-3) to 1 0 S cm-1. The electrical and thermal conductivity of these films has been determined between 280 and 335 K. The electrical conductivity was measured using a four probe technique calibrated against ASTM D4496-87. Thermal conductivity was determined from measurements of thermal diffusivity, specific heat and density. Thermal diffusivity was determined. using a modified a.c. calorimetry technique, while differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to determine specific heat. The polymer's density was measured using Archimedes' principle. The results were used to calculate the Lorenz number of polypyrrole.-A comparison of the predicted behaviour and experimental results was made. Thermal conductivity is found to be large compared to that predicted from the electrical conductivity measurements on low conductivity films. Molecular vibration effects are found to be non-trivial and experimental means for measuring their contribution are mentioned. While polypyrrole has been regarded as a ''synthetic metal'' the thermal conductivity results show this classification is wrong.