Polymer chains conduction

Figure 3.4 Schematic evolution of electronic structure from single atom to polymer chain. Conduction band (CB unoccupied band)) and valence band (VB occupied band) are shown.

Generally speaking, electrically conductive polymers are composed of conjugated polymer chains with TT-electrons delocalized along the backbone. 

Conducting polymer composites have also been formed by co-electrodeposition of matrix polymer during electrochemical polymerization. Because both components of the composite are deposited simultaneously, a homogenous film is obtained. This technique has been utilized for both neutral thermoplastics such as poly(vinyl chloride) (159), as well as for a large variety of polyelectrolytes (64—68, 159—165). When the matrix polymer is a polyelectrolyte, it serves as the dopant species for the conducting polymer, so there is an intimate mixing of the polymer chains and the system can be appropriately termed a molecular composite. 

SN)x are free to move under the influence of an applied potential difference and thus conduction occurs along the polymer chain. The S-N distances in the chain are essentially equal, consistent with a delocalized structure. The increase in conductivity with decreasing temperature is characteristic of a metallic conductor. The predicted Peierls distortion is apparently inhibited by weak interactions between the polymer chains (S—S = 3.47-3.70 A S—N = 3.26-3.38 A.). ... 

Another model assumes that gel zones are formed by hydrated lead dioxide (PbO(OH)2) and act as bridging elements between the crystallite particles. Electrons can move along the polymer chains of this gel and so cause electronic conductivity between the crystalline zones 137],... 

To avoid these stability problems, it is necessary to minimize the proportion of chains that terminate by radical-radical reaction. One way of achieving this is to conduct the polymerization in the presence of an appropriate chain transfer agent. For example, if polymerization is performed in the presence of a H-donor chain transfer agent, conditions can be chosen such that most chains terminate by hydrogen-atom transfer. Bagby et al.iA examined the thermal stability of PMMA formed with dodecanethiol. These polymer chains will then possess, more... 

Figure 20. Artificial muscle under work. In reduction (A) electrons are injected into the polymer chains. Positive charges are annihilated. Counter-ions and water molecules are expelled. The polymer shrinks and compaction stress gradients appear at each point of the interface of the two polymers. The free end of the bilayer describes an angular movement toward the left side. (B) Opposite processes and movements occur under oxidation. (Reprinted from T. F. Otero and J. Rodriguez, in Intrinsically Conducting Polymers An Emerging Technology, M. Aldissi, ed., pp. 179-190, Figs. 1,2. Copyright 1993. Reprinted with kind permission of Kluwer Academic Publishers.)...

As for further analysis, curve fitting against the worm-like chain (WLC) model was conducted and indicated as a solid line in Figure 21.4. The model describes single polymer chain mechanics ranging from random-coil to fully extended forms, as follows ... 

The classical example of a soUd organic polymer electrolyte and the first one found is the poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/salt system [593]. It has been studied extensively as an ionically conducting material and the PEO/hthium salt complexes are considered as reference polymer electrolytes. However, their ambient temperature ionic conductivity is poor, on the order of 10 S cm, due to the presence of crystalUne domains in the polymer which, by restricting polymer chain motions, inhibit the transport of ions. Consequently, they must be heated above about 80 °C to obtain isotropic molten polymers and a significant increase in ionic conductivity. 

However, another obstacle to high bulk conductivity of such a polymer exists. In view of the hnite length and vast number of constitutive polymer chains, bulk conduction requires electrons to jump between chains (or polarons to transfer between chains in the opposite direction). It is obvious, then, that local order, crystallinity, and good contact between the different crystal domains in the polymer are further prerequisites for conduction. 

In the present work, a somewhat different approach was chosen in order to produce conducting polymers the basic idea was to start with a cheap material, like PVC, and try to remove all the hydrogen and chlorine atoms from the polymer chain. The purely carbon material thus obtained was expected to exhibit the electrical conductivity of a semimetal, while being insensitive to the atmospheric oxygen. In this paper, we report for the first time how PVC can be completely dehydrochlorinated by simple exposure to a powerful laser beam that combines both the photochemical and the thermal effects. 

A non-electrochemical technique which has been employed to alter the physical characteristics of a number of polymers is that of stress orientation [26, 27], in which the material is stressed whilst being converted to the desired form. This has the effect of aligning the polymer chains and increasing the degree of order in the material, and is obviously most applicable to materials which can be produced via a precursor polymer. With Durham polyacetylene (Section 4.2.1) increases in length in excess of a factor of twenty have been achieved, with concomitant increases in order, as shown by X-ray diffraction and by measurements of the anisotropy of the electrical conductivity perpendicular and parallel to the stretch direction. 

The electrochemistry of polyaniline is more complex than that of other conducting polymers and given the large number of possible structures for the material, it is not surprising that many possible reaction schemes have been suggested [181,182, 195-197,205], Many of the properties of the material are pH-dependent [173,174, 206], including the open circuit potential [207] which is most positive at pH 0, and this is further complicated by the fact that not all the polymer chains are necessarily in exactly the same state at any given time [197]. Above pH 3 polyaniline films do not show any electroactivity, but are not electroactive even at low pH with... 

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