Conducting Polymers
Within the past several years, polymeric materials have been synthesized that have electrical conductivities on par with metallic conductors; they are appro- priately termed conducting polymers. Conductivities as high as 1.5 107 ( -m) 1 have been achieved in these materials; on a volume basis, this value corresponds to one-fourth of the conductivity of copper, or twice its conductivity on the basis of weight. This phenomenon is observed in a dozen or so polymers, including poly- acetylene, polyparaphenylene,polypyrrole, and polyaniline. Each of these poly- mers contains a system of alternating single and double bonds and/or aromatic units in the polymer chain