Polyaniline Nanocomposites for Supercapacitor Applications - Prasanna B. P. - Bog

Polymers are extended chain giant organic molecules which consists of repeated interlinking of many monomer units in long chain there by given its name poly, meaning 'many' and mer, meaning 'part' in Greek. A polymer is similar to a necklace made from numerous tiny beads joining together known as monomers. The nonconducting properties of most of the polymers signify a substantial advantage for various practical applications of plastics. However, organic polymers with good electrical conductivity have been observed during last two decades. The polymeric materials have good processability, less specific weight, corrosion resistance and also the exciting prospects for plastics fabricated in to films, electronic devices and electrical wires. Because of these properties, in recent years they have grabbed the attention of both academic researchers and industrial domains ranging from solid state physics to chemistry and to electrochemistry.

Conducting polymers are the class of polymers which can conduct electricity due to its T-electron system. Sometimes these conducting polymers are also called organic polymeric conductors or conjugated polymers or purely conductive polymers. The existence of alternate single and double bonds between the carbon atoms leading to formation of sigma (a) and pi (T) bonds is known as conjugation. Due to the formation of covalent bonds between the carbon atoms the a-electrons are fixed and immobile, while the remaining T-electrons are easily delocalized upon doping. Thus, an extended T system along the conducting polymer backbone confers the electronic conduction due to the movement of T-electrons along the chain.

Ever since the invention of iodine doped conductive polyacetylene, a new field of conducting polymers, which is also called as "synthetic metals", with a number of different conducting polymers and their derivatives have been established.