Conducting polymers: properties and applications

There are over 100 conducting polymers which have been synthesised by chemists with a wide range of specific electrical conductivities. Many of these polymers are suitable for elec tronic device fabrication. Semi-conducting and conducting polymers have potential for application in several areas. In this paper electronic and microwave properties are explored. Fabrication of elec tronic and microwave devices can be achieved with these special polymers which are not possible with say silicon or gallium arsenide. Wide area flexible electronic junctions can be fabricated. Polymers have low density, hence conductivity to weight ratio can be higher than metals. Optical transparency together with electrical conduction has been achieved. This article presents an overview of the results of investigations undertaken within the Centre for Materials Technology (CMT) in this area over the past 4 years. This includes work on monomer and polymer synthesis, molecular structure-property relationships, electromagnetic shielding, thermal, optical and junction properties.