Conducting Polymers with Micro or Nanometer Structure describes a topic discovered by three winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000: Alan J. Heeger, University of California at Santa Barbara, Alan G. MacDiarmid at the University of Pennsylvania, and Hideki Shirakawa at the University of Tsukuba. Since then, the unique properties of conducting polymers have led to promising applications in functional materials and technologies. The book first briefly summarizes the main concepts of conducting polymers before introducing micro/nanostructured conducting polymers dealing with their synthesis, structural characterizations, formation mechanisms, physical and chemical properties, and potential applications in nanomaterials and nanotechnology. The book is intended for researchers in the related fields of chemistry, physics, materials, nanomaterials and nanodevices. Meixiang Wan is a professor at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing.

This report explains the theory of polymer conductivity, and discusses developments in the synthesis of the major polymers. A detailed section on practical applications follows a discussion of the improved electrical and mechanical properties and environmental stability which make such applications possible. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database provides useful references for further reading.

Until about 30 years ago all carbon-based polymers were regarded strictly as insulators, and hence were extensively utilized by the electronics industry for this very property. They have been used as inactive packaging and insulating material. This very narrow perspective has rapidly changed with the emergence of intrinsically conducting polymers. The combination of conventional polymers with conductive polymers or fillers is an important alternative to obtaining new polymeric materials with designed properties. Through the combination of conventional polymers with conductive polymers such as polyaniline, polypyrrole, and so on, the mechanical properties of conducting polymers can be improved. The insulating polymer removes the brittleness and lack of processibility that are the main drawbacks hindering conducting polymers. Blend applications require that conductivity is achieved at a small weight fraction of conducting polymer. There is also an increased requirement for polymeric materials whose electrical conductivity can be tailored. The aim this chapter is to describe conducting polymer blend systems to identify characteristic trends that might be useful for the investigation of their potential application in various electronic and optoelectronic devices.

An authentic revolution took place in the area of solid-state chemistry and physics just after World War II. The century of solid state started from the modest beginnings of the transistor at Bell Laboratory. Since then, the area of science and technology has been directed primarily toward the study of alloys, ceramics, and inorganic semiconductors. The size of electronic devices became smaller and smaller, while the dimensionality of materials was also reduced just after the invention of the integrated circuit. It is at this point that the advent of the discovery of quasi one-dimensional conductors has opened up a whole new area of ''nonclassical'' solid-state chemistry and physics. In the modern world, plastic and electrical devices are always tightly integrated together. However, it was in 1977 that an electrically conductive, quasi one-dimensional organic polymer, polyacetylene, was discovered. During the past 30 years, a variety of different conducting polymers have been developed. Excitement about these polymeric materials is evidenced by the fact that the field of conducting polymers has attracted scientists from such diverse areas of interest as synthetic chemistry, electrochemistry, solid-state physics, materials science, polymer science, electronics, and electrical engineering.

Conjugated polymer composites with high dielectric constants are being developed by the electronics industry in response to the need for power-grounded decoupling to secure the integrity of high-speed signals and to reduce electromagnetic interference. Electrically conducting polymers are materials that simultaneously possess the physical and chemical properties of organic polymers and the electronic characteristics of metals. Multifunctional micro- and nanostructures of conjugated polymers, such as of pyrrole, have received great attention in recent years because they can polymerize easily and have high conductivity and good thermal stability. They, however, have some disadvantages such as brittleness and hard processability, which can be overcome by developing their nanocomposites. Nanofiber materials with different dielectric properties can be made from conjugated polymer composites and used in the electronics industry, in sensors and batteries, for electrical stimulation to enhance nerve-regeneration process, and for constructing scaffolds for nerve tissue engineering. Electrospinning is a versatile technique that is used to produce ultrathin continuous fibers with high surface-to-volume and aspect ratios from a variety of materials, including polymers, composites, and ceramics. Conductive materials in fibrillar shape may be advantageous compared with films because of their inherent properties such as anisotropy, high surface area, and mechanical strength. They are of particular interest in electroactive composites as they can be efficiently distributed in an insulating polymer matrix to improve both electrical and mechanical properties. Combination of electrical properties with good mechanical performance is of particular interest in electroactive polymer technology. This book covers the general aspects of electrospinning and discusses the fundamental concepts that can be used to produce nanofibers with the help of mathematical models and equations. It also details the methods through which different polymeric structures can be included in conjugated polymers during electrospinning to form composites or blends of conjugated polymer nanofibers.

This book presents a comprehensive survey about conducting polymers and their hybrids with different materials. It highlights the topics pertinent to research and development in academia and in the industry. The book thus discusses the preparation and characterization of these materials, as well as materials properties and their processing. The current challenges in the field are addressed, and an outline on new and even futuristic approaches is given. “Conducting Polymer Hybrids” is concerned with a fascinating class of materials with the promise for wide-ranging applications, including energy generation and storage, supercapacitors, electronics, display technologies, sensing, environmental and biomedical applications. The book covers a large variety of systems: one-, two-, and three-dimenstional composites and hybrids, mixed at micro- and nanolevel.

This book deals with the practical fundamentals and applications of conducting polymers. Written from a pedagogical point of view and at a very basic level, it provides a thorough grounding in CPs ideal for further work, as a reference, or as a supplementary course text.

This book presents synthesis methods, characterization techniques, properties and applications of hybrid conducting polymers. Special emphasis is given to the applications of hybrid conductive polymers, with chapters ranging from electronic devices, environmental remediation, and sensors, to medical applications.

The subject of `Intrinsically Conducting Polymers: an Emerging Technology' was addressed at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Burlington, Vermont, U.S.A. in October 1992. Approximately 30 invited scientists from 11 different countries attended the workshop and 24 lectures were given discussing in detail the most important processing techniques and applications of conducting polymers, along with the basic materials science aspects. The results was the present book, which, for the first time, addresses progress in materials science related to polymers presently on the market and to already existing applications, as well as to future applications. This book covers mostly existing and future applications of intrinsically conducting polymers. Among these applications are the redox-type, such as batteries and electrochemical actuators and artificial muscles. Capacitors, microlithography and transistor uses are addressed. The use of conducting polymers as 'smart' materials in sensor/indicator types of applications is discussed. ESD applications and EMI shielding are subjects that conducting polymers are sought after for. Microwave properties for radar/microwave absorption and for plastics joining/welding are discussed. Also, this book discusses materials processing for the various applications, including fabrication of fibers, textiles, colloids and films/coatings. This book will be an important addition to the libraries of every institution involved in this emerging technology.

Learn how recent advances are fueling new possibilities in textiles, optics, electronics, and biomedicine! As the field of conjugated, electrically conducting, and electroactive polymers has grown, the Handbook of Conducting Polymers has been there to document and celebrate these changes along the way. Now split into two vo