Conductive polymers or, more precisely, intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs)

are organic polymers that conduct electricity.[1] [2]Such compounds may have metallic conductivity
or can be semiconductors. The biggest advantage of conductive polymers is their processability,
mainly by dispersion. Conductive polymers are generally not thermoplastics, i.e., they are not
thermoformable. But, like insulating polymers, they are organic materials. They can offer high
electrical conductivity but do not show similar mechanical properties to other commercially
available polymers. The electrical properties can be fine-tuned using the methods of organic
synthesis[3] and by advanced dispersion techniques.[4]

Contents

 1History
 2Types
 3Synthesis
 4Molecular basis of electrical conductivity
 5Properties and applications
o 5.1Electroluminescence
o 5.2Barriers to applications
o 5.3Trends
 6See also
 7References
 8Further reading
 9External links

History[edit]
Polyaniline was first described in the mid-19th century by Henry Letheby, who investigated the
electrochemical and chemical oxidation products of aniline in acidic media. He noted that
reduced form was colourless but the oxidized forms were deep blue.[5]
The first highly-conductive organic compounds were the charge transfer complexes.[6] In the
1950s, researchers reported that polycyclic aromatic compounds formed semi-
conducting charge-transfer complex salts with halogens.[3] In 1954, researchers at Bell Labs and
elsewhere reported organic charge transfer complexes with resistivities as low as 8 ohms-
cm.[7][8] In the early 1970s, researchers demonstrated salts of tetrathiafulvalene show[9] almost
metallic conductivity, while superconductivity was demonstrated in 1980. Broad research on
charge transfer salts continues today. While these compounds were technically not polymers,
this indicated that organic compounds can carry current. While organic conductors were
previously intermittently discussed, the field was particularly energized by the prediction
of superconductivity[10] following the discovery of BCS theory.
In 1963 Australians B.A. Bolto, D.E. Weiss, and coworkers reported derivatives
of polypyrrole with resistivities as low as 1 ohm·cm.[11][7] cites multiple reports of similar high-
conductivity oxidized polyacetylenes. With the notable exception of charge transfer
complexes(some of which are even superconductors), organic molecules were previously
considered insulators or at best weakly conducting semiconductors. Subsequently, DeSurville
and coworkers reported high conductivity in a polyaniline.[12] Likewise, in 1980, Diaz and Logan
reported films of polyaniline that can serve as electrodes.[13]
While mostly operating in the quantum realm of less than 100 nanometers, "molecular" electronic
processes can collectively manifest on a macro scale. Examples include quantum
tunneling, negative resistance, phonon-assisted hopping and polarons. In 1977, Alan J.
Heeger, Alan MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa reported similar high conductivity in oxidized
iodine-doped polyacetylene.[14] For this research, they were awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers."[15]Polyacetylene itself did
not find practical applications, but drew the attention of scientists and encouraged the rapid
growth of the field.[5] Since the late 1980s, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have emerged
as an important application of conducting polymers.[16][17]

Types[edit]
Linear-backbone "polymer blacks" (polyacetylene, polypyrrole, polyindole and polyaniline) and
their copolymers are the main class of conductive polymers. Poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV)
and its soluble derivatives have emerged as the prototypical electroluminescentsemiconducting
polymers. Today, poly(3-alkylthiophenes) are the archetypical materials for solar cells and
transistors.[3]
The following table presents some organic conductive polymers according to their
composition. The well-studied classes are written in bold and the less well studied ones are in
italic.

The Heteroatoms present

main
chain
contai
ns No heteroatom Nitrogen-containing Sulfur-containing

The N is in the
aromatic cycle: The S is in the aromatic cycle:

 poly(pyrrole)s (  poly(thiophene)s (PT)

 Poly(fluorene)s PPY)  poly(3,4-
Aromati  polyphenylenes  polycarbazoles ethylenedioxythiophene) (P
c  polypyrenes  polyindoles EDOT)
cycles  polyazulenes  polyazepines The S is outside the aromatic
 polynaphthalenes The N is outside the cycle:
aromatic cycle:
 poly(p-phenylene
 polyanilines (PA sulfide) (PPS)
NI)
Double  Poly(acetylene)s (

bonds PAC)
Aromati
c
cycles  Poly(p-phenylene

and vinylene) (PPV)
double
bonds

Synthesis[edit]
Conductive polymers are prepared by many methods. Most conductive polymers are prepared by
oxidative coupling of monocyclic precursors. Such reactions entail dehydrogenation:
n H–[X]–H → H–[X]n–H + 2(n–1) H+ + 2(n–1) e−
The low solubility of most polymers presents challenges. Some researchers add solubilizing
functional groups to some or all monomers to increase solubility. Others address this through
the formation of nanostructures and surfactant-stabilized conducting polymer dispersions in
water. These include polyaniline nanofibers and PEDOT:PSS. In many cases, the molecular
weight of conductive polymers are lower than conventional polymers such as polyethylene.
However, in some cases, the molecular weight need not be high to achieve the desired
properties.
There are two main methods used to synthesize conductive polymers, chemical
synthesis and electro (co)polymerization. The chemical synthesis means connecting carbon-
carbon bond of monomers by placing the simple monomers under various condition, such as
heating, pressing, light exposure and catalyst. The advantage is high yield. However, there
are many impurities plausible in the end product. The electro (co)polymerization means
inserting three electrodes (reference electrode, counter electrode and working electrode) into
solution including reactors or monomers. By applying voltage to electrodes, redox reaction to
synthesize polymer is promoted. Electro (co)polymerization can also be divided into Cyclic
Voltammetry and Potentiostatic method by applying cyclic voltage[18] and constant voltage.
The advantage of Electro (co)polymerization are the high purity of products. But the method
can only synthesize a few products at a time.