Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of Crystalline Electroconductive Polymers

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials for Energy Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 August 2025 | Viewed by 4542

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ENEA, Nuclear Department (NUC), C. R. Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy
Interests: electroconductive polymers; diamond films; carbon nanomaterials; 3D printing; Raman spectroscopy

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Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism (IMEM), National Research Council (CNR), 43124 Parma, Italy
Interests: organic electronics; electrochemical devices; electroconductive polymers
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Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine Nanofabrication, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Ørsteds Plads, 344, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Interests: 3D printing-microfabrication-biomaterial

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School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
Interests: computer modelling; interatomic potentials; optical materials; defects and dopants
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since their serendipitous discovery, electroconducting polymers (CPs) have represented a significant revolution in fields ranging from materials science to electronics, from aerospace to biomedicine. The unique combination of electroconductivity, flexibility, redox activity, stability, processability, environmental friendliness, and doping dependence behaviour deem CPs the perfect bridge between the worlds of organic chemistry and material science, enabling the development of advanced devices, sensors, and technologies that were previously difficult or impossible to achieve with conventional materials. Chemical composition, synthesis methods, and processing conditions are crucial to tailoring CPs’ properties for specific applications, driving ongoing innovation in this field. Materials based on CPs can have a wide variety of applications, for example, biomimetic, smart materials, renewable energy sources, various sensors and biosensors, packaging etc.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews on (but not limited to) the synthesis and characterization of crystalline CP-based materials. Researchers from academia and industry are furthermore encouraged to share their latest investigations and their original results regarding properties as well as potential or effective applications of this class of materials.

Dr. Rocco Carcione
Dr. Silvia Battistoni
Dr. Giorgio Scordo
Dr. Robert A. Jackson
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • electroconducting polymer-based materials
  • nanocomposites
  • carbon-based nanomaterials
  • biocomposite materials
  • polymerization processes
  • polymer matrix
  • surface modification
  • interfacial properties
  • applications
  • sensors and devices
  • morphological and structural characterizations

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 7445 KiB  
Article
Controlling Poly(3-hexythiophene) Hierarchical Polymer/SWCNT Nanohybrid Shish-Kebab Morphologies in Marginal Solvents
by Kevin Schnittker, Zahra Bahrami and Joseph Andrews
Crystals 2024, 14(12), 1065; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14121065 - 10 Dec 2024
Viewed by 737
Abstract
In organic optoelectronic devices, the self-assembly behavior of the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) into structured aggregates significantly influences the device’s performance, with processing conditions playing a key role. Incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into a P3HT solution can form hierarchical supramolecular structures known as [...] Read more.
In organic optoelectronic devices, the self-assembly behavior of the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) into structured aggregates significantly influences the device’s performance, with processing conditions playing a key role. Incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into a P3HT solution can form hierarchical supramolecular structures known as nanohybrid shish-kebabs (NHSKs). These structures alter the morphology of polymer aggregates and provide an alternative pathway for improved charge transport in thin film devices. Herein, we investigated the impact of solvent quality using different combinations of chloroform and anisole during the quasi-isothermal crystallization of P3HT:CNTs. We found that NHSKs of different nanowire lengths can be formed through changing solvent quality while maintaining a constant P3HT:SWCNT ratio and a constant SWCNT concentration. Optical absorbance measurements showed that increasing the amount of the good solvent (chloroform) to 10.19% (v/v) reduced the exciton bandwidth by 36.4% compared to the NHSK solution that only contained ~2.37% (v/v). This observation demonstrates the importance of solvent quality and how this processing parameter directly leads to the enhanced crystallization of supramolecular structures. Full article
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9 pages, 2998 KiB  
Article
Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Electropolymerization of 1,4-Di([2,2′-bithiophen]-3-yl)buta-1,3-diyne
by Alessandro Pedrini, Chiara Massera, Enrico Dalcanale, Marco Giannetto and Roberta Pinalli
Crystals 2024, 14(7), 620; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14070620 - 5 Jul 2024
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Abstract
For their great structural versatility, thiophene-based π-conjugated systems have been widely exploited in the preparation of low band gap materials. Here, we report the synthesis of a highly conjugated tetrathiophene system, namely 1,4-di([2,2′-bithiophen]-3-yl)buta-1,3-diyne (1), that presents two bithiophene units connected at [...] Read more.
For their great structural versatility, thiophene-based π-conjugated systems have been widely exploited in the preparation of low band gap materials. Here, we report the synthesis of a highly conjugated tetrathiophene system, namely 1,4-di([2,2′-bithiophen]-3-yl)buta-1,3-diyne (1), that presents two bithiophene units connected at position 3 by a butadiynylene spacer. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) analysis elucidated the structure of 1, confirming the planarity of the molecule. The molecule was then electropolymerized onto the surface of a gold-coated piezoelectric quartz crystal, showing a high reactivity that is ascribable to the extended conjugation. The frontier molecular orbital energies of 1 were obtained via DFT optimization performed on the crystal structure-derived molecular geometry. Finally, DFT was also used to estimate the polymer band gap. Full article
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14 pages, 16132 KiB  
Article
Hierarchically Porous Carbon Cloth–Polyaniline (CC–PANI) Composite Supercapacitor Electrodes with Enhanced Stability
by Svetlana V. Stakhanova, Ilya S. Krechetov, Kristina E. Shafigullina, Tatiana L. Lepkova, Valentine V. Berestov, Eugene S. Statnik, Zlatotsveta E. Zyryanova, Elena A. Novikova and Alexander M. Korsunsky
Crystals 2024, 14(5), 457; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst14050457 - 12 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1848
Abstract
In this work, hierarchically porous composites were prepared in the form of activated carbon cloth (CC) Busofit T–1–055 filled with an electrically conductive polymer, polyaniline (PANI), for use as pseudocapacitive electrodes of electrochemical supercapacitors (SCs). CC fibers have high nanoporosity and specific surface [...] Read more.
In this work, hierarchically porous composites were prepared in the form of activated carbon cloth (CC) Busofit T–1–055 filled with an electrically conductive polymer, polyaniline (PANI), for use as pseudocapacitive electrodes of electrochemical supercapacitors (SCs). CC fibers have high nanoporosity and specific surface area, so it was possible to deposit (via the chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline) a significant amount of PANI on them in the form of a thin layer mainly located on the inner surface of the pores. Such morphology of the composite made allowed the combining of the high capacitive characteristics of PANI with the reversibility of electrochemical processes, high columbic efficiency and cyclic stability rather typical for carbon materials of double-layer SCs. The highest capacitance of composite electrodes of about 4.54 F/cm2 with high cyclic stability (no more than 8% of capacity loss after 2000 charge–discharge cycles with a current density of 10 A/cm2) and columbic efficiency (up to 98%) was achieved in 3 M H2SO4 electrolyte solution when PANI was synthesized from an aniline hydrochloride solution with a concentration of 0.25 M. Trasatti analysis revealed that 27% of specific capacitance corresponded to pseudocapacitance, and 73% to the double-layer capacitance. Full article
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