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Electroactive Polymers
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Electroactive Polymers

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2016) | Viewed by 29032

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Jennifer Irvin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
Interests: electrospinning; biosensors; maximizing molecular weight; photocatalytic water purification; scaffolds for nerve regeneration; energy storage; ion transport; nanoscale templating approaches to enhance electroactivity; n-doping stability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electroactive polymers (also known as conducting polymers or inherently/intrinsically conducting polymers) are polymers that change their properties as a function of applied electric fields. The typically poor conductivities of these polymers, relative to many metals, has led some scientists and engineers to discount their utility. It is for that reason that the term electroactive polymers is perhaps a better descriptor; the ability of these materials to change properties is what has led to most of their potential applications. In the last three decades, electroactive polymers have transformed from interesting anomalies to promising materials for many applications. Changes in color have led to applications in electrochromics; changes in volume have practical applications in actuators, drug delivery, and separations; conductivity changes are useful for sensors; stable oxidation/reduction processes allow the materials to be used for energy storage (batteries and capacitors) and static dissipation; and light absorption and emission processes allow the polymers to be useful for photovoltaic and light emitting applications.

We invite the scientific community to submit their contributions, in the form of original research articles and review articles, in all areas of electroactive polymers. We are particularly interested in articles describing 1) synthetic approaches to monomers and polymers, 2) characterization of these polymers, and 3) applications of electroactive polymers in areas including photovoltaics, light emission, electrochromics, sensors, drug delivery, energy storage, actuators, and static dissipation.

There are many other electroactive polymer technologies and applications. The field is rapidly advancing into new areas of discovery.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Dr. Jennifer A. Irvin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


 

Keywords

  • electroactive polymer
  • conducting polymer
  • battery
  • capacitor
  • photovoltaic
  • electrochromic
  • drug delivery
  • actuator
  • light emitting polymer
  • static dissipation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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2407 KiB  
Article
Change in Dielectric Properties in the Microwave Frequency Region of Polypyrrole–Coated Textiles during Aging
by Eva Hakansson, Akif Kaynak and Abbas Kouzani
Materials 2016, 9(7), 609; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9070609 - 22 Jul 2016
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5263
Abstract
Complex permittivity of conducting polypyrrole (PPy)-coated Nylon-Lycra textiles is measured using a free space transmission measurement technique over the frequency range of 1–18 GHz. The aging of microwave dielectric properties and reflection, transmission and absorption for a period of 18 months is demonstrated. [...] Read more.
Complex permittivity of conducting polypyrrole (PPy)-coated Nylon-Lycra textiles is measured using a free space transmission measurement technique over the frequency range of 1–18 GHz. The aging of microwave dielectric properties and reflection, transmission and absorption for a period of 18 months is demonstrated. PPy-coated fabrics are shown to be lossy over the full frequency range. The levels of absorption are shown to be higher than reflection in the tested samples. This is attributed to the relatively high resistivity of the PPy-coated fabrics. Both the dopant concentration and polymerisation time affect the total shielding effectiveness and microwave aging behaviour. Distinguishing either of these two factors as being exclusively the dominant mechanism of shielding effectiveness is shown to be difficult. It is observed that the PPy-coated Nylon-Lycra samples with a p-toluene sulfonic acid (pTSA) concentration of 0.015 M and polymerisation times of 60 min and 180 min have 37% and 26% decrease in total transmission loss, respectively, upon aging for 72 weeks at room temperature (20 °C, 65% Relative humidity (RH)). The concentration of the dopant also influences the microwave aging behaviour of the PPy-coated fabrics. The samples with a higher dopant concentration of 0.027 mol/L pTSA are shown to have a transmission loss of 32.6% and 16.5% for short and long polymerisation times, respectively, when aged for 72 weeks. The microwave properties exhibit better stability with high dopant concentration and/or longer polymerization times. High pTSA dopant concentrations and/or longer polymerisation times result in high microwave insertion loss and are more effective in reducing the transmission and also increasing the longevity of the electrical properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electroactive Polymers)
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1662 KiB  
Article
Anion Effects on the Ion Exchange Process and the Deformation Property of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite Actuators
by Wataru Aoyagi and Masaki Omiya
Materials 2016, 9(6), 479; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9060479 - 15 Jun 2016
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5108
Abstract
An ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuator composed of a thin perfluorinated ionomer membrane with electrodes plated on both surfaces undergoes a large bending motion when a low electric field is applied across its thickness. Such actuators are soft, lightweight, and able to operate [...] Read more.
An ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) actuator composed of a thin perfluorinated ionomer membrane with electrodes plated on both surfaces undergoes a large bending motion when a low electric field is applied across its thickness. Such actuators are soft, lightweight, and able to operate in solutions and thus show promise with regard to a wide range of applications, including MEMS sensors, artificial muscles, biomimetic systems, and medical devices. However, the variations induced by changing the type of anion on the device deformation properties are not well understood; therefore, the present study investigated the effects of different anions on the ion exchange process and the deformation behavior of IPMC actuators with palladium electrodes. Ion exchange was carried out in solutions incorporating various anions and the actuator tip displacement in deionized water was subsequently measured while applying a step voltage. In the step voltage response measurements, larger anions such as nitrate or sulfate led to a more pronounced tip displacement compared to that obtained with smaller anions such as hydroxide or chloride. In AC impedance measurements, larger anions generated greater ion conductivity and a larger double-layer capacitance at the cathode. Based on these mechanical and electrochemical measurements, it is concluded that the presence of larger anions in the ion exchange solution induces a greater degree of double-layer capacitance at the cathode and results in enhanced tip deformation of the IPMC actuators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electroactive Polymers)
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2407 KiB  
Article
Synthesis, Characterization, and Electropolymerization of Extended Fused-Ring Thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-Based Terthienyls
by Kristine L. Konkol, Ryan L. Schwiderski and Seth C. Rasmussen
Materials 2016, 9(6), 404; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9060404 - 26 May 2016
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5076
Abstract
The synthesis, characterization, and electropolymerization of a series of extended fused-ring thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-based terthienyls are reported. The target terthienyls contain a central extended thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine analogue containing 2-thienyl units at the reactive α-positions of the central thiophene. The extended fused-ring thieno[3,4- [...] Read more.
The synthesis, characterization, and electropolymerization of a series of extended fused-ring thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-based terthienyls are reported. The target terthienyls contain a central extended thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine analogue containing 2-thienyl units at the reactive α-positions of the central thiophene. The extended fused-ring thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine analogues studied include acenaphtho[1,2-b]thieno[3,4-e]pyrazine, dibenzo[f,h]thieno[3,4-b]quinoxaline, and thieno[3′,4′:5,6]-pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline. Comparison of the electrochemical and photophysical properties to simple thieno[3,4-b]pyrazine-based terthienyls and their polymeric analogues are reported in order to provide structure-function relationships within this series of compounds and materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electroactive Polymers)
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3631 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Conjugated Polymer Side Chain Manipulation on the Efficiency and Stability of Polymer Solar Cells
by Ilona M. Heckler, Jurgen Kesters, Maxime Defour, Morten V. Madsen, Huguette Penxten, Jan D’Haen, Bruno Van Mele, Wouter Maes and Eva Bundgaard
Materials 2016, 9(3), 181; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9030181 - 09 Mar 2016
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5882
Abstract
The stability of polymer solar cells (PSCs) can be influenced by the introduction of particular moieties on the conjugated polymer side chains. In this study, two series of donor-acceptor copolymers, based on bis(thienyl)dialkoxybenzene donor and benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (BT) or thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole [...] Read more.
The stability of polymer solar cells (PSCs) can be influenced by the introduction of particular moieties on the conjugated polymer side chains. In this study, two series of donor-acceptor copolymers, based on bis(thienyl)dialkoxybenzene donor and benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (BT) or thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (TzTz) acceptor units, were selected toward effective device scalability by roll-coating. The influence of the partial exchange (5% or 10%) of the solubilizing 2-hexyldecyloxy by alternative 2-phenylethoxy groups on efficiency and stability was investigated. With an increasing 2-phenylethoxy ratio, a decrease in solar cell efficiency was observed for the BT-based series, whereas the efficiencies for the devices based on the TzTz polymers remained approximately the same. The photochemical degradation rate for PSCs based on the TzTz polymers decreased with an increasing 2-phenylethoxy ratio. Lifetime studies under constant sun irradiance showed a diminishing initial degradation rate for the BT-based devices upon including the alternative side chains, whereas the (more stable) TzTz-based devices degraded at a faster rate from the start of the experiment upon partly exchanging the side chains. No clear trends in the degradation behavior, linked to the copolymer structural changes, could be established at this point, evidencing the complex interplay of events determining PSCs’ lifetime. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electroactive Polymers)
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Review

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455 KiB  
Review
A Review on Electroactive Polymers for Waste Heat Recovery
by Ewa Kolasińska and Piotr Kolasiński
Materials 2016, 9(6), 485; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9060485 - 17 Jun 2016
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7024
Abstract
This paper reviews materials for thermoelectric waste heat recovery, and discusses selected industrial and distributed waste heat sources as well as recovery methods that are currently applied. Thermoelectric properties, especially electrical conductivity, thermopower, thermal conductivity and the thermoelectric figures of merit, are considered [...] Read more.
This paper reviews materials for thermoelectric waste heat recovery, and discusses selected industrial and distributed waste heat sources as well as recovery methods that are currently applied. Thermoelectric properties, especially electrical conductivity, thermopower, thermal conductivity and the thermoelectric figures of merit, are considered when evaluating thermoelectric materials for waste heat recovery. Alloys and oxides are briefly discussed as materials suitable for medium- and high-grade sources. Electroactive polymers are presented as a new group of materials for low-grade sources. Polyaniline is a particularly fitting polymer for these purposes. We also discuss types of modifiers and modification methods, and their influence on the thermoelectric performance of this class of polymers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electroactive Polymers)
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