In situ electrolytic reduction of copper ions in the mesoporous matrices based on poly(ethylene terephthalate)

A simple, eco-friendly, reagent-free and cost-effective approach of in situ electrolytic reduction of copper sulfate that allows one to prepare copper-filled thin-film composite materials based on the mesoporous poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films after their deformation via the mechanism of classical crazing with formation of discrete crazes with a fibrillar-porous structure is presented. The structure and properties of the copper-filled polymer materials with different levels of loading with metallic copper have been studied by X-ray analysis and scanning electron microscopy. It has been shown that metallic copper is located within the porous crazes; the degree of loading is controlled by the porosity of the PET films and it can achieve 150 wt%.