Editing Conductive polymer (section)

==Properties and applications==
Conductive polymers show promise in antistatic materials<ref name=Ullmann/> and they have been incorporated into commercial displays and batteries. Literature suggests they are also promising in [[organic solar cells]], [[Printed electronics|printed electronic circuits]], [[Organic LED|organic light-emitting diodes]], [[actuator]]s, [[electrochromism]], [[supercapacitors]], [[chemiresistor#Conductive polymers|chemical sensors]], [[chemical sensor array]]s, and [[biosensors]],<ref>{{cite journal | doi =  10.1016/j.aca.2008.02.068 | title =  Conducting polymers in chemical sensors and arrays | date =  2008 | last1 =  Lange | first1 =  Ulrich | last2 =  Roznyatovskaya | first2 =  Nataliya V. | last3 =  Mirsky | first3 =  Vladimir M. | journal =  Analytica Chimica Acta | volume =  614 | pages =  1–26 | pmid =  18405677 | issue =  1| bibcode = 2008AcAC..614....1L }}</ref> flexible transparent displays, [[electromagnetic shielding]] and possibly replacement for the popular transparent conductor [[indium tin oxide]]. Another use is for [[microwave]]-absorbent coatings, particularly radar-absorptive coatings on [[stealth aircraft]]. Conducting polymers are rapidly gaining attraction in new applications with increasingly processable materials with better electrical and physical properties and lower costs. The new nano-structured forms of conducting polymers particularly, augment this field with their higher surface area and better dispersability. Research reports showed that nanostructured conducting polymers in the form of nanofibers and [[nanosponges]] exhibit significantly improved capacitance values as compared to their non-nanostructured counterparts.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tebyetekerwa|first1=Mike|last2=Wang|first2=Xingping|last3=Wu|first3=Yongzhi|last4=Yang|first4=Shengyuan|last5=Zhu|first5=Meifang|last6=Ramakrishna|first6=Seeram|title=Controlled synergistic strategy to fabricate 3D-skeletal hetero-nanosponges with high performance for flexible energy storage applications|journal=Journal of Materials Chemistry A|date=2017|volume=5|issue=40|pages=21114–21121|doi=10.1039/C7TA06242G}}</ref><ref name="Unveiling Polyindole 2017">{{cite journal|last1=Tebyetekerwa|first1=Mike|last2=Yang|first2=Shengyuan|last3=Peng|first3=Shengjie|last4=Xu|first4=Zhen|last5=Shao|first5=Wenyu|last6=Pan|first6=Dan|last7=Ramakrishna|first7=Seeram|last8=Zhu|first8=Meifang|title=Unveiling Polyindole: Freestanding As-electrospun Polyindole Nanofibers and Polyindole/Carbon Nanotubes Composites as Enhanced Electrodes for Flexible All-solid-state Supercapacitors|journal=Electrochimica Acta|date=September 2017|volume=247|pages=400–409|doi=10.1016/j.electacta.2017.07.038}}</ref>

With the availability of stable and reproducible dispersions, PEDOT and [[polyaniline]] have gained some large-scale applications. While PEDOT ([[poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)]]) is mainly used in antistatic applications and as a transparent conductive layer in form of PEDOT:PSS dispersions (PSS=[[Sodium polystyrene sulfonate|polystyrene sulfonic acid]]), polyaniline is widely used for [[printed circuit board manufacturing]] – in the final finish, for protecting copper from corrosion and preventing its solderability.<ref name="nalwa">{{cite book |last=Wessling |first=Bernhard |title=Handbook of Nanostructured Materials and Nanotechnology |publisher=Academic Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-12-513760-7 |editor=in: Nalwa, H.S. |volume=5 |place=New York, USA |pages=501–575 |doi=10.1016/B978-012513760-7/50070-8 |s2cid=185393455}}</ref> Moreover, polyindole is also starting to gain attention for various applications due to its high redox activity,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tebyetekerwa|first1=Mike|last2=Xu|first2=Zhen|last3=Li|first3=Weili|last4=Wang|first4=Xingping|last5=Marriam|first5=Ifra|last6=Peng|first6=Shengjie|last7=Ramakrishna|first7=Seeram|last8=Yang|first8=Shengyuan|last9=Zhu|first9=Meifang|title=Surface Self-Assembly of Functional Electroactive Nanofibers on Textile Yarns as a Facile Approach Towards Super Flexible Energy Storage|journal=ACS Applied Energy Materials|volume=1|issue=2|pages=377–386|date=13 December 2017|doi=10.1021/acsaem.7b00057}}</ref> thermal stability,<ref name="Unveiling Polyindole 2017"/> and slow degradation properties than competitors polyaniline and polypyrrole.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Zhou|first1=Weiqiang|last2=Xu|first2=Jingkun|title=Progress in Conjugated Polyindoles: Synthesis, Polymerization Mechanisms, Properties, and Applications|journal=Polymer Reviews|date=18 August 2016|volume=57|issue=2|pages=248–275|doi=10.1080/15583724.2016.1223130|s2cid=99946069}}</ref>

=== Electroluminescence ===
[[Electroluminescence]] is light emission stimulated by electric current. In organic compounds, electroluminescence has been known since the early 1950s, when Bernanose and coworkers first produced electroluminescence in crystalline thin films of acridine orange and quinacrine. In 1960, researchers at Dow Chemical developed AC-driven electroluminescent cells using doping. In some cases, similar [[light emission]] is observed when a [[voltage]] is applied to a thin layer of a conductive organic polymer film. While electroluminescence was originally mostly of academic interest, the increased conductivity of modern conductive polymers means enough power can be put through the device at low voltages to generate practical amounts of light. This property has led to the development of [[flat panel display]]s using [[organic LED]]s, [[Photovoltaic module|solar panel]]s, and optical [[amplifier]]s.

===Barriers to applications===
Since most conductive polymers require oxidative doping, the properties of the resulting state are crucial. Such materials are salt-like (polymer salt), which makes them less soluble in organic solvents and water and hence harder to process. Furthermore, the charged organic backbone is often unstable towards atmospheric moisture. Improving processability for many polymers requires the introduction of solubilizing substituents, which can further complicate the synthesis.

Experimental and theoretical thermodynamical evidence suggests that conductive polymers may even be completely and principally insoluble so that they can only be processed by [[Dispersion (chemistry)|dispersion]].<ref name="nalwa"/>

===Trends===
Most recent emphasis is on [[organic light emitting diode]]s and organic [[polymer solar cell]]s.<ref>[http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/sec_subscribe.asp?CID=2235&DID=82525&action=detail Overview on Organic Electronics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302184725/http://www.mrs.org/s_mrs/sec_subscribe.asp?CID=2235&DID=82525&action=detail |date=2017-03-02 }}. Mrs.org. Retrieved on 2017-02-16.</ref> The Organic Electronics Association is an international platform to promote applications of [[organic semiconductor]]s. Conductive polymer products with embedded and improved electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection have led to both prototypes and products. For example, Polymer Electronics Research Center at University of Auckland is developing a range of novel DNA sensor technologies based on conducting polymers, photoluminescent polymers and inorganic nanocrystals (quantum dots) for simple, rapid and sensitive gene detection. Typical conductive polymers must be "doped" to produce high conductivity. As of 2001, there remains to be discovered an organic polymer that is ''intrinsically'' electrically conducting.<ref>[http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~colinc/science/past/PhD/html-thesis/node8.html Conjugated Polymers: Electronic Conductors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211153956/http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~colinc/science/past/PhD/html-thesis/node8.html |date=2015-02-11 }} (April 2001)</ref> Recently (as of 2020), researchers from [[IMDEA Nanoscience Institute]] reported experimental demonstration of the rational engineering of 1D polymers that are located near the [[quantum phase transition]] from the topologically trivial to non-trivial class, thus featuring a narrow bandgap.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cirera|first1=Borja|last2=Sánchez-Grande|first2=Ana|last3=de la Torre|first3=Bruno|last4=Santos|first4=José|last5=Edalatmanesh|first5=Shayan|last6=Rodríguez-Sánchez|first6=Eider|last7=Lauwaet|first7=Koen|last8=Mallada|first8=Benjamin|last9=Zbořil|first9=Radek|last10=Miranda|first10=Rodolfo|last11=Gröning|first11=Oliver|date=2020-04-20|title=Tailoring topological order and π- conjugation to engineer quasi-metallic polymers|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-020-0668-7|journal=Nature Nanotechnology|language=en|pages=437–443|doi=10.1038/s41565-020-0668-7|issn=1748-3395|volume=15|issue=6|pmid=32313219|arxiv=1911.05514| bibcode=2020NatNa..15..437C |s2cid=207930507}}</ref>