AMR Future Brief| Conductive Polymers: The Key to Promote Next-Generation Technology and Biocompatibility

Conductive polymers are organic polymers that conduct electricity. These organic materials are characterized by alternating double and single bonds within their molecular structure. This conjugated structure of these polymers enables the flow of electrons, imparting electrical and thermal conductivity to these materials. Due to their environmental benefits, biocompatibility, commercial relevance, and notable conductivity, these polymers have garnered significant interest from the scientific and industrial communities.??

Analyzing the versatility of conductive polymers across industries?

In the past few years, continuous advancements in conductive polymers have opened new avenues for their applications across diverse fields. Innovative architectures and the strategic integration of these organic polymers with other materials have paved the way for significant breakthroughs and human progress. These materials possess distinct properties that make them suitable for a wide range of applications, including energy harvesting and storage, sensing, and environmental monitoring.??

In the field of electronics, conductive polymers have played a major role in the development of OLEDs, due to their flexibility, lightweight nature, and ease of processing. OLEDs are widely employed in display screens for televisions, smartphones, and wearable devices. Their flexible nature allows for the creation of curved and foldable screens. Moreover, these polymers are integral to the fabrication of organic solar cells. Their ability to absorb light and convert it into electricity makes them ideal for tensile and lightweight solar panels. Additionally, they serve as the active materials in OFETs (Organic Field-Effect Transistors), which are used in bendable electronic circuits and displays. Their enhanced processability makes them suitable for developing wearable electronics and smart textiles.??

On the other hand, the unique properties of conductive polymers offer greater convenience for energy storage applications. They are used in supercapacitors, which are devices that store and release energy quickly. Their high surface area and conductivity enhance the performance of supercapacitors, providing a perfect alternative for applications requiring rapid energy discharge. Furthermore, these materials also are employed as electrode materials while designing batteries. They improve the efficiency and capacity of batteries by facilitating better charge and discharge cycles, offering greater choice for making energy storage solutions in portable electronics and electric vehicles.?

Conductive polymers are sensitive to environmental changes, making them perfect for various sensor and actuator applications. They are used in gas sensors to detect the presence of gases by changing their electrical properties in response to different gas molecules. This makes them useful in environmental monitoring and industrial safety systems. Furthermore, in medical diagnostics, these polymers are used in biosensors detecting glucose, cholesterol, and pathogens. Their high sensitivity and biocompatibility are beneficial for accurate and reliable detection. Also, they respond to mechanical stress effectively, providing a better choice for designing pressure sensors used in wearable devices, robotics, and industrial applications.??

Exploring the use of pure conducting polymer hydrogel for medical applications?

The rapid advancement of electronics and artificial intelligence tools has opened interesting opportunities for the development of technologies for innumerous applications. These include implantable devices designed to support the treatment of medical conditions, monitor biological processes, or augment human abilities.?

In May 2024, researchers from Seoul National University, KAIST, Konkuk University, and Hanyang University developed a new hydrogel made from a pure conducting polymer for bio-compatible devices. This hydrogel, detailed in a Nature Electronics paper, is easier to produce and customize for various applications compared to past materials.?

Seung Hwan Ko, co-author of the paper said that electronics directly implanted into the body causes various side effects such as poor immune system. Usually, electronic components placed into the body cannot escape conventional hard materials. This leads to poor immune response because of mechanical mismatches with soft biological tissues. To solve this problem, electronics are being developed using soft materials that have similar properties to that of human bodies. However, they face the limitations of poor device performance and weak mechanical stability in wet physiological environments.?

Seung Hwan Ko and his collaborators have been developing new soft materials for more than five years, using various processing techniques that could ensure their stability in wet environments. Their recent works have specifically focused on hydrogels, artificial materials that are most similar to the human body, as they are characterized by Young's modulus and high-water content. To ensure the high electrical conductivity of conductive hydrogels, they have used pure conducting polymer, namely, PEDOT:PSS, instead of insulating polymers.???

As most soft polymer substrates can transmit the majority of visible light, Seung Hwan Ko and his colleagues have decided to flip over PEDOT:PSS-coated transparent substrates and irradiated them with a 532 nm laser beam. This beam is transmitted through the transparent substrate, allowing the polymer PEDOT:PSS to absorb it and generate concentrated photothermal energy at the interface with the substrate. This unique PEDOT:PSS patterns become conductive hydrogels that can contain more than 80% water, and are composed only of pure conducting polymer, ensuring high conductivity of more than 100 Siemens per cm.??

In conclusion, conductive polymers are highly transformative materials that offer a wide spectrum of applications across various fields. Their unique properties, such as electrical conductivity, flexibility, and processability, make them indispensable in this growing era of technology. From revolutionizing the electronics industry to helping make advanced biomedical devices, these polymers are expected to bring more innovations across various fields in the future.??

To get more insights into the groundbreaking applications of conductive polymers, feel free to reach out to our esteemed analysts today! For immediate assistance, you can also directly chat with them here!?

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