Activity 7. Research project: emerging technologies

UNIVERSIDAD ANÁHUAC MÉXICO

 FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD

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INNOVACIÓN TECNOLÓGICA

ACTIVITY 7. Research project: emerging technologies^[a]

Alumnos

De León Gómez, Ana Cristina; ID: 00360879

Mendoza Aguilar, Andrea; ID: 00367954

Monjarás Jiménez, Paula; ID: 00367371

Muciño Ledesma, Melisa; ID: 00351007

Herrasti Campos, María Fernanda; ID: 00376248

Ruiz Hernández Andrés; ID:00379269

Dr. Enrique Sclar Yelin

Dra. Erandi Guzmán Vázquez

13 de noviembre del 2023, Huixquilucan, Estado de México.

Table of contents

Table of contents        2

Conductive polymers        3

Summary        3

Scientific and technical foundations of the technology        4

Existing applications        6

Organizations, research centers, and other institutions, that are working on the development of this technology, as well as related standards        7

Industries and companies that will be affected and how it affects them –both positively and negatively        8

Conclusions        10

References        10

Conductive polymers

Summary

        Conductive polymers are a class of organic polymers that conduct electricity. Unlike traditional polymers that are insulators, conductive polymers have unique electronic and optical properties which can be enhanced by adjusting the oxidation state of the polymer (Nezakati, Seifalian, Tan, & Seifalian, 2018).

These properties, illustrated in Figure 1, make conductive polymers valuable in various technological applications such as the development of electronic devices like transistors, sensors, and diodes, where they contribute to the creation of efficient and versatile components. Additionally, their application extends to biosensors, where they are employed to detect biological molecules because the conductivity of these polymers is sensitive to specific analytes, enabling precise and selective detection in biosensing applications. Furthermore, conductive polymers are ideal for the fabrication of flexible and stretchable electronic components used for displays and wearable electronics.

Some advantages of this technology are:

• They are lightweight and flexible: impose an advantage for applications where traditional rigid materials may be impractical.
• Easy processing: allow for cost-effective and scalable production.
• Easy editing: their properties can be modified according to the application

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Figure 1.  Properties of conducting polymers (Das & Prusty, 2012).

The conductive polymers that have drawn the most attention are ​​”polyacetylene (PA), polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPY), poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV), poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polyfuran (PF) among other polythiophene (PTh) derivatives” (Das & Prusty, 2012)

Scientific and technical foundations of the technology

        Conducting polymers have emerged from scientific exploration due to their remarkable potential in properties that encompass electrical and optical characteristics, mechanical resilience, and environmental stability, thus surpassing conventional inorganic materials that are currently being used instead, posing a focal point for researchers. At their core conductive polymers represent a subset of organic polymers, whose electronic conductivity can be tailored through chemical modifications; this ability comes from the nature of the molecular structures, allowing them to delocalise their  electrons and facilitate electrical conductivity. Before conducting polymers were a thing, organic polymers were viewed as electrical insulators however, it was discovered that conducting polymers have a very unique electrical and optical aspect to them that makes them similar to inorganic semiconductors. One of the key aspects of conduct polymers, and why they have so much potential is the fact that they can be doped, which involves introducing charge carriers or dopant molecules that influence the electric conductivity off of the polymer in, these doping process has been a focal point in recent research, because it gives scientists the ability to fine-tune the properties of a polymer to have a specific application. Throughout the historic journey of conductive polymers, there was an investigation done by Alan McDiarmid, and Alan Heeger, where they explored the electrical conductivity of SNx (a sulfur nitrate metal doped with bromine), which led them to win a Nobel Prize in 2000, this was because polyacetylene that is doped with bromine has 1 million times higher conductivity than pristine polyacetylene. (Namsheer, K. Chandra, R. 2021)         

        We can comprehend the technical foundations of conducting polymers by studying its molecular structure, electrical behavior, structural characteristics in their transition states and electronic behavior:

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Figure 2. Diagram showcasing the structural representations of diverse conductive polymers. (Namsheer, K. Chandra, R. 2021)         

• Molecular structure and electrical behavior:

        Conductive polymers have very distinctive electrical and optical properties. These properties come from the arrangement of a conjugated carbon chain that features both single and double bonds. These are highly delocalized, polarized and π electron dense bonds that play a role in the polymer’s behavior, this unique structure gives them an exceptional electrical behavior, allowing electrons to move freely along the polymer chain and conferring electrical conductivity, which can be modulated through the doping process, which is basically when a dopant and molecule is introduced  to create charge carriers, thereby transitioning the material from an insulator to a metal. In their pristine state, these polymers act as semiconductors, meaning, they will have an enhanced conductivity in their metallic state. This is important because scientists have the control over the molecular structure of polymers and have the ability to manipulate the electrical properties a certain polymer has, thus having versatile applications ranging from electronics to energy power. (Namsheer, K. Chandra, R. 2021)         

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