9 - Polymer electrodes

Summary

Introduction

The discovery that certain classes of polymers may acquire high electronic conductivity following chemical or electrochemical treatment has opened a new and exciting area of research and development.

The concept of electric transport in polymers due to the availability of polymeric materials with characteristics similar to those of metals is certainly fascinating and, indeed, many studies have been directed towards the preparation and the characterisation of these new electroactive conductors. The final goal is their use as new components for the realisation of electronic and electrochemical devices with exotic designs and diverse applications.

The idea of exploiting these new conducting polymers for the development of flexible diodes and junction transistors, as well as for selective field effect transistor sensors, has been proposed and experimentally confirmed, and thus we may, perhaps optimistically, look forward to a time when popular electronic devices can be based on low cost, flexible and modular polymer components.

Even more interesting than all this is the fact that conducting polymers allow the fabrication of not only polymer-like electronic devices but also the battery which is necessary to power them. Indeed, such polymers are capable of acquiring high conductivity by reversible electrochemical processes, and thus they may be regarded as new electrode materials which can operate in the same way as the conventional battery electrodes, while still maintaining their unique mechanical characteristics.