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Seminar Series
October 19, 2007 EMB 116 |
Ping Du Conductive Polymers Host Program: Department of Manufacturing Engineering |
| Abstract: Conductive polymers are an unusual class of organic materials that exhibit high electrical conductivity at room temperature. A key feature of them is the presence of conjugated structures along the backbone of polymers. Oxidation or reduction creates self-localized charge carriers which contribute to the conductivity. Changing the oxidation state can be accomplished by chemical, electrochemical, or optical exciations. Some redox state dependent properties (conductivity, color, volume, permeability) can be easily controlled by electrical stimuli, which make it possible to construct transistors, OLEDs, actuator and membranes. In the actuator aspect, conductive polymers rely on ions and solvent transport to effect volume change. Featuring low activation voltage, high stress, moderate strain, and capability to operate in liquid electrolytes, conductive polymers are very attractive for biomedical use, such as artificial muscle. Since the discovery of conductive polymers in 1977, the research on this field will continue to be active and promising in future. Recently we made some preliminary experiments on polymer synthesis and bilayer actuation. The future research will focus on actuator mechanism and applications. |
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