‫الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية‬ 

République Algérienne Démocratique et Populaire

Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche Scientifique
Université Ferhat ABBAS Sétif 1
Faculté De Technologie
Département De Génie De Procédés
OPTION: Génie des Polymères

Presented by : Feddaoui Oussama Supervised by : Haddaoui Nacerddine

Conducting Polymers and Their Applications

Introduction
Polymers are generally insulators because the organic molecule of which they are Composed of has no free electrons to carry the current, all the electrons are held firmly by atoms forming the molecules, and the polymers in which the carbons atoms in the backbone
are linked by double bonds have the potential to conduct electricity, ( the electric conductivity is a movement of the free electrons in the polymer), especially when a number of such bonds occur in the vicinity of each other
are known as Conducting Polymers. Due to their unique conductive properties, CPs are usually employed in important applications in chemistry, physics, electronics, optics, materials and biomedical science, sensors ,electro chromic displays, Microsystems
technologies, electronic devices, microwave screening and corrosion protection. Such applications have prompted the need for analytical methodologies to characterise and control the quality of these materials [1].

Discovery of Conducting Polymers Doping of Conducting Polymers Molecular Strecture of Conducting Polymers
Traditionally polymers thought of as insulator. However in 1770 a
discovery by Alan.G.Mac Diarmid .Hidiki Shirakawa and Alan Heeger.
Conversation of polymers backbone to charge π conjugated system
changed the traditional concept . They proved that polyacetylene doped is called doping
(oxidized) with iodine has high conductivity. This research earned them the
2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. It has great applications in day to day life.
Internal redox Charge injection
doping doping

Fig. 1: Molecular structure of polyacetylene [2.3].

Doping
.

Electrochemical Photo-doping
doping
Fig. 3: Molecular structure of typical conducting polymers [4].
Fig. 2: Photograph of three awardees of the Nobel Chemistry Chemical doping
Prize in 2000 [2].
Alan G. MacDiarmid (left).Prof. at the Univ. of Pennsylvania, USA Hideki Synthesis
Shirakawa (middle). Prof. Emeritus, Univ. of Tsukuba, Japan Alan J.Heeger
(right). Prof. at the Univ.OfofConducting
Classification California atPolymers
Santa Barbara, USA.
Electrochemical
Chemical Synthesis
Synthesis
Classification of conducting polymers

Conducting Polymers

Intrinsically Extrinsically
CPs CPs

CPs Having Doped Conducting Blended Fig. 5: synthesis of PPy via chemical oxidative polymerization[5].
Conjugation CPs element CPs
Field
polymers hh

N.Doping P. Doping

How do they conduct ? Fig. 4: Conductivity of the ICPs compared with different materials
[6].
Conducting polymers have a continuous chain of sp2
Fig. 6: Chemical synthesis of polythiophene [5].
hybridized carbon centers. It is these π bonds due to
which they conduct.
Applications of Conducting polymers
Two conditions :
  Presence of conjugated double bonds. Conducting polymers have many uses. Among them :
 Molecule has to be disturbed- using a dopant.
Oxydative doping (halogens): P-type
semiconducting Polymer
 
E.g.: CP + (3/2)I2 CP + (I3—)

 Reductive doping (alkali metals): N-type

semiconducting polymer

E.g.: CP +Na+ (C10H8) CP — ( Na+) + C10H8

Conducting Polymers: Limitations.

Conjugated polymers have few large scale
applications because of high cost, problems in
processing (due to their insolubility, infusibility,
brittleness) & long term instability. Conclusion
Polymers shape our lives because polymer can be shaped! We have already point this out; polymer is the major driving force behind most research that tries to design plastics for electronic applications. Conducting polymers, such as
polyacetylene polythiophene, poly- para phenylene vinylene, polyaniline and polypyrrole, represent new advanced materials as a key issue for the development of new devices and structures offering the association of the various properties
required in advanced applications such as solar cells ,printable electronics, organic light emitting diode, sensors , batteries ..etc[ 7].
Conducting polymers are rapidly gaining attraction in new applications with increasingly processable materials with better electrical and physical properties and lower costs. The new nanostructure forms of conducting polymers particularly
augment this field with their higher surface area and better dispersability[ 5] .

[1] J. Jang, « Emissive Materials Nanomaterials ». Vol. 199, p. 189, (2006).

References
[2] H. Shirakawa, E. J. Louis, A. G. MacDiarmid, C. K. Chiang and A. J. Heeger. « J. Chem. Soc.Chem ». Vol. 16, p. 578, (1997).
[3] C. K. Chiang, C. R. Fincher, Y.W. Park, A. J. Heeger, H. Shirakawa, E. J. Louis, S. C. Gau and A. G. MacDiarmid, « Phys ». Vol. 39, p.1098,(1977).
.
[4] Y. F. Li, « Organic Optoelectronic Materials ». P .23-49 , Beijing, (2015).
[5] G.G. Wallace, G.M. Spinks, K.Maguire and P.R. Teasdale, «Conductive electroactive polymers ». 2nd ed, p. 230, London, (2003).
[6] G. Li, R. Zhu and Y. Yang, « Polymer solar cells, Nature photonics ». Vol. 6, p. 153-161, (2012).
[7] H. S. Nalwa, « Encyclopedia of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology ». Vol. 2, p. 153-169, (2004).