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Abstract: The conducting polymer field has continued its rapid expansion since the discovery that
an organic polymer, polyacetylene, could be doped to the metallic regime. A number of new
conducting polymers have since been synthesized and many chemical, structural and physical
studies have helped in elucidating the doping processes and electronic and magnetic properties of
these materials; however, an adequate understanding of many fundamental phenomena will only be
attained by further research. Such understanding will be assisted by the synthesis and study of new
types of conducting polymers and composites. The first significant signs of technological
applications of these polymers now appearing are expected to stimulate even more basic and
applied research in this field in the future. The early problems associated with the stability and
solubility of such conducting polymers have largely been overcome using chemical intuition and
experimentation. A fairly wide range of interesting applications based on these polymers is
emerging; some of these are highlighted in this article.
Introduction
Most organic polymers are insulators by nature. Most of the polymers are
used for electrical insulation, as they are bad conductor of electricity.
Since these polymers do not possess large number of free electrons,
they do not conduct electricity. Conductivity in polymers is observed
because of different reasons. Accordingly they can be categorized into
different types.
Conducting polymer research dates back to the 1960s, when Pohl,
Katon, and their coworkers, first synthesized and characterized
semiconducting polymers . The discovery of the high conductivity of
polysulfurnitride (SN), a polymeric material containing interesting
electrical properties, was a step forward for research in conducting
polymers.
Semiconducting polymers
The thin film diode first described in 1987 provides a simple example of a
semiconductor device: the metal–semiconductor– metal (MSM) structure
comprised of a single layer of semiconducting polymer cast from solution
and sandwiched between metal contacts with different work functions
operates as a diode with relatively high rectification ratio.
Molecular structures of the more important First and Second generation
Semiconducting polymers
Mechanism
Conducting polymers are responsible for flow of electricity because of
their conjugation in pie bond system. Due to delocalization of electrons in
molecule the conjugated double bands allow to flow of more number of
electron. Delocalization is the condition in which pie bonding electrons
are spread over a number of atoms rather than localized between 2
atoms. This condition permits electrons to travel more easily making the
electrically conducting polymers.
Conjugation and movement
of pie bond
The conductivity of
non-doped, conjugated
polymers such as
polyacetylene is due to the
existence of a conducting
band similar to a metal. In a
conjugated polymer three
or the four valence electrons form strong σ bonds through
sp2 hybridization where elctrons are strongly localized. The remaining
unpaired electron of each carbon atom remains in a pz orbital. It overlaps
with a neighboring pz orbital to form a pie bond. The pie electrons of
these conjugated pz orbitals overlap to form an extended pz orbital
system through which electrons can move freely (delocalization of pie
electrons).
Different types of conugation
Poly(acetylene)s
The first conducting polymer synthesised was poly(acetylene). The first
reports on acetylene polymers date back to the last century. Cuprene, a
highly crosslinked and extremely irregular product of acetylene
polymerisation in the presence of copper- containing catalysts being a
typical example for the initial efforts. Poly(acetylene) is the simplest
conjugated polymer. In its linear form it precipitates as a black, air
sensitive, infusible and intractable powder out of solution and can not be
processed. Ant et al. were the first to polymerise acetylene in hexane
using a mixed catalyst of alkyl aluminium and titanium tetraalkoxides:
Oxidative coupling
Organometallic coupling
Ullmann and Wurtz-Fittig reactions have been tilized for the synthesis of
phenylene oligomers but these methods can not be applied to the
synthesis of poly(phenylene)s since yields are low.
Dehydrogenation of poly(cycohexylene)s
Cycloaddition reactions
PPVs were originally synthesised via the popular Gilch route which uses
the bis(chloromethyl)benzene precursor monomer in THF in the
presence of t-butoxide as non-nucleophilic base. The reaction leads to a
rather defined product with limited conjugation length and defects along
the polymer backbone. The precursor sulfonium electrolyte is prepared in
aqueous solution (Wessling route to PPV, less defects, longer
conjugation, milder) by the base induced polymerisation of the
appropriate bis-sulfonium monomer.
Poly(pyrrole)s
Poly(pyrrole) are prepared by the Stille coupling/thermolysis sequence.
Poly(aniline)s
Oxidation of aniline is the most widely employed synthetic route to
polyaniline and can be performed either electrochemically or
chemically. The reaction is usually carried out in acidic medium
with a chemical oxidising agents such as ammoniumpersulfate.
Branching or even crosslinking during polymerisation occurs
through the formation of radicals at the 2 and 6 position.
Light-Emitting Diodes
In 1990 the Cambridge group led by Richard Friend reported the
emission of light from a semiconducting polymer sandwiched
between two contacts and connected to a battery. The discovery
of electroluminescence (EL) in conjugated polymers, i.e., the
emission of light upon electron-hole recombination as the result of
an electric current flown, has provided a new impetus for the
development of polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs). These
elements are fundamental for display and other applications. In
PLEDs and in OLEDs (organic LEDs), the latter being their small
molecule-based equivalents, the holes and electrons injected
from the device contacts recombine and produce luminescence
with a wavelength (color) dictated by the energy difference
between the molecular excited and ground states.
Photovoltaic Cells
Two years after the PLED breakthrough at Cambridge, the Santa
Barbara group reported the first results on polymer-based
photovoltaic cells,of which the principles can be regarded as the
inverse of the EL process. In photovoltaic (PV) devices, bound
electron hole pairs (excitons) are created upon illumination. To
convert the absorbed light into electricity, the excitons must first
dissociate into the separate charges which then have to be
collected at the device contacts (holes at the anode and electrons
at the cathode). This process is possible thanks to the use of
contacts with different work functions enabling the formation of a
built-in potential field within the device.
CHEMISTOR
A Chemiresistor is simply formed by two electrodes as contact
points with the conducting polymer (CP) put onto an insulate
substrate. When applying a constant current, the probable
difference occurs on the electrodes represents the response
output signal.
Corrosion
Conducting polymers of various forms will be electrodeposited
onto oxidisable metals and electrochemical and environmental
means will be used to access their applicably for corrosion
protection.
Polyaniline (Pani) and its derivatives are among the most
frequently studied CPs used for corrosion protection. In addition,
the use of PANI for corrosion protection of metals has been of
wide interest since the works by (DeBerry 1988; Mengoli et al.
1981) reporting that electro active coatings of the Pani could
provide adequate protection against corrosion of stainless steels
and iron sheets, respectively. Ever since, numerous studies have
been published in which various CPs in different configurations
were evaluated for corrosion protection of different metals and
alloys: mild steel.
Conclusion
Conducting polymers have, thus, come a long way from purely
laboratory curiosity to a class of materials that can find end use in
a wide variety of commercial products, ranging from batteries to
biosensors. Such a development is a classic example that serves
to illustrate the wide range of expertise, starting from chemists,
physicists, biologists and technologists, that is required to take
some invention in the laboratory to the market place.
References
https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/6713
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10601325.2013.784546
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10008-008-0561-z
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2011/cs/c0cs00194e/unauth#!divAbstract
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