Conducting polymers possible applications

Other Applications of Electronically Conducting Polymers. Future applications of electrochemistry in clean energy systems (based on solar light or chemically stimulated nuclear changes) seem possible. A major difficulty so far has been the expense of the materials. In this area, one of the initial studies involving... 

Electrically conductive polymers are just one of a number of esoteric possible uses for synthetic polymers. These materials are now being considered for a variety of applications. 

The knowledge that conducting polymers can be charged, i.e. oxidized and reduced, raised early on the question of possible applications, such as the construction of a polymer battery. But basic research was long unable to explain the charge storage mechanism. 

Many other opportunities exist due to the enormous flexibility of the preparative method, and the ability to incorporate many different species. Very recently, a great deal of work has been published concerning methods of producing these materials with specific physical forms, such as spheres, discs and fibres. Such possibilities will pave the way to new application areas such as molecular wires, where the silica fibre acts as an insulator, and the inside of the pore is filled with a metal or indeed a conducting polymer, such that nanoscale wires and electronic devices can be fabricated. Initial work on the production of highly porous electrodes has already been successfully carried out, and the extension to uni-directional bundles of wires will no doubt soon follow. 

Electronically conducting polymers (ECPs) such as polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy) and po 1 y(3.4-cthy 1 cncdi oxyth iophcnc) (PEDOT) have been applied in supercapacitors, due to their excellent electrochemical properties and lower cost than other ECPs. We demonstrated that multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) prepared by catalytic decomposition of acetylene in a solid solution are very effective conductivity additives in composite materials based on ECPs. In this paper, we show that a successful application of ECPs in supercapacitor technologies could be possible only in an asymmetric configuration, i.e. with electrodes of different nature. 

Polyacetylene attracts constant attention as an excellent simple model of the polyconjugated polymer on which the main optical and electrical properties can be verified. The possibility of achieving metallic conductivities by doping opens real perspectives of practical application of conducting polymers. The complication is the strong interaction with oxygen. The reproducibility of results strongly depends on the synthesis and measurement conditions. 

The diffusion of dopants into, and out of, conducting polymers is important for possible applications in batteries, and as conductors or semiconductors. For conductors or semiconductors, the chief requirements are that the material can be doped in a reasonable time, but that it will then not lose dopant over periods of years. This is particularly important in determining junction stability in devices. In the case of batteries, on the other hand, rapid and reversible uptake and loss of dopants is needed, since the diffusion rate controls charging and discharging rates. In addition, the accessibility of the structure to oxygen, and other degradants, will be a factor in the stability of the polymer. 

The use of ISEs with ion-selective membranes based on plasticized PVC, as well as glass pH electrodes, is limited to the analysis of aqueous solutions. On the other hand, sensors based on conducting polymer membranes are usually insoluble in organic solvents, which extends the range of possible applications. Electrosynthesized polypyrrole doped with calcion works as a Ca2+ sensor that can be applied as indicator electrode in the titration of Ca2+ with NaF in mixed solvents, such as water-methanol (1 1) and water-ethanol (1 1) [52], Another example is the use of polyaniline as indicator electrode in order to follow the acid-base precipitation titration of trimeprazine base with tartaric acid in isopropanol solution (see Procedure 5). 

Solid-state ion sensors with conducting polymers as sensing membranes have also proved useful in some applications. Of particular importance are the pH sensors based on polyaniline that can be also applied in non-aqueous solutions. Polypyrrole-based sensors for nitrate also show great promise for water analysis. However, in addition to these two excellent examples, a large number of functionalized conducting polymers have been synthesized already, and these materials may offer unique possibilities for fabrication of durable, miniaturized ion sensors. 

BN fibers are used for reinforcing ceramic materials (e.g., Al203, Si3N4, SiC) to enhance mechanical properties as well as to extend the range of possible applications. They serve as reinforcement of organic polymers (e.g., epoxides, polyether-polyketones, polyphenylensulfides) which exhibit good thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion. 

Any search for polymer products on the internet will reveal the staggering number and variety of materials now available. It would seem that every type of polymer imaginable for just about any possible application already exists. Yet research in polymer science is among the most active in any held of chemistry. Today researchers are still inventing many new kinds of polymers with a host of specialized properties and uses. Some of the most exciting research involves the development of conductive and semiconductive polymers, den-drimers, and synthetic proteins. 

Practical Electrochemical Uses of Electronically Conducting Polymers (see also Section 4.9.2). A large volume of work examining applications of electronically conducting polymers is now available and the details can ben found in the reading list at the end of this chapter. The possibilities of using... 

Electroadsorption—adsorption carried out with an applied electrode potential. The quantity deposited is a function of deposition time, multilayer formation being possible, as is the case with thionine. On the other hand, application of a potential, in the correct conditions, in the presence of a molecule susceptible to polymerization, can produce radicals, initiating polymerization and subsequent electrode modification. Examples of these conducting polymer monomers are pyrrole, N-phenylpyrrole and W-methylpyrrole, aniline, and thiophene. 

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