Chain Polymer-Conjugated Technology

Fig. 6.1 Chain polymer conjugated technology (EnVision System) developed by DakoCytomation...

Polyacetylene is very sensitive to air and moisture, which limits its technological applications. However, many other conducting polymers have been developed (three of which are shown here) that have found many practical uses. Notice that all these conducting polymers have a chain of conjugated double bonds. 

Most research effort, therefore, concentrated on those polymers where it is possible to control morphology, to obtain chemically pure materials and to manipulate them to provide forms, e.g. chain oriented samples and thin films, suitable for basic research and applications. The development of synthetic routes that provide clean, reproducible samples has been critical in the progress achieved in understanding the physics of conjugated polymers. This in turn underpinned the rapid development of technological applications, which appeared on a much shorter timescale than for other, comparable technologies. The level of scientific and technical interest in polymers, such as PAc, PAni, PPy, PThs, PPVs and polyfluorenes, has resulted in the commercial production of them and their precursors. 

Grafting of flexible hydrocarbon chains on the conjugated polythiophene backbone greatly improves polymer solubility and flexibility and, for this technological reason, alkyl-substituted polymers have been the object of much research work. 

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