Conductive Nanofibers in Electric and Electronic Applications

Electrospun nanofibers with electrical and electro-optical activities have received a great deal of interest in recent years because of their potential applications in nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices, for example nanowires, LEDs, photocells etc. Besides, one-dimensional (1-D) nanostmctures are the smallest dimensional stmctures for efficient transport of electrons and optical excitations. One of the potential future apphcations of conducting polymer nanofibers is as molecular wires, which are required to connect molecular devices to electrodes. For molecular devices, it is necessary to make nanowires with diameters in the order of the size of the molecular device. 

Extremely low-dimensional conducting nanowires (as small as 3 nm in diameter) for use in nanoelectronics can be produced with the electrospinning technique [103]. Using template methods, insulating PLA fibers with an average diameter of 200-700 nm as core materials were electrospun and subsequently coated with thin 50-100 nm films of polyaniline or polypyrrole by in situ polymer deposition methods. The PLA core fibers decompose upon relatively mild thermal treatment under inert atmosphere, leaving 

This review covers the active research area of processing functional conductive nanofibers and nanostructures with various compositions and properties by means of the electrospinning method. It is also focuses on the unique properties of electrospun conductive nanostructures that can be utilized to improve existing applications of conductive materials and on the various possibilities to meet the requirements of a number of novel applications. 

Overall, combining well-established technologies of today with the emerging field of electrospun conductive nanostructures can potentially lead to the development of new technologies and new micro- and nanostructured smart assemblies, and stimulate opportunities for an enormous number of creative applications. In the next few years, we can expect to see many more commercial applications of electrospun conductive polymers that will have a large impact on the innovations and technologies of the future. 

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