Light-Induced Fabrication of Nanoporous Conductive PEDOT-PCL Scaffold: A Versatile Approach Combining Step-Growth and Chain-Growth Polymerizations

The field of developing electroconductive artificial scaffolds that can imitate the architecture of human tissues is growing rapidly. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) are the two gold standards for achieving the required conductivity and robustness in such materials. In this study, we present a novel light-induced method for fabricating a PEDOT-PCL scaffold using phenacyl bromide (PAB) as a single-component photoinitiator. The release of HBr from the step-growth polymerization of EDOT was utilized as in situ catalyst for the chain-growth polymerization of caprolactone. Detailed investigations revealed the formation of a self-assembled nanoporous electroconductive (1.2 mS/cm) scaffold which was characterized by several spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The fluorescence emission spectra exhibited a mixed solvatochromic behavior, indicating specific interactions between the self-assembled scaffold, as evidenced by TEM, and solvents with varying polarities. Moreover, the same light-induced technique was applied for bulk photopolymerization showcasing the versatility and wide-ranging scope.