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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Meysam Heydari Gharahcheshmeh

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Interests: nanostructure engineering; conducting polymers; semiconductors; superconductors; energy; chemical vapor deposition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Conjugated conducting/semiconducting polymers have attracted an incredible amount of attention in energy and biocompatible device sectors. Electrical conductivity, ionic conductivity, optical transparency, biocompatibility, and mechanical flexibility are just a few of the many desirable characteristics of conjugated polymers. Due to these characteristics, conjugated conducting/semiconducting polymers reveal a promising performance in various technology applications, including photovoltaics, electrochemical energy storage devices, thermoelectric, flexible optoelectronic devices, biosensors, wearable electronics, and tissue engineering.

This Special Issue aims to collect original research and review articles on different classes of conjugated conducting/semiconducting polymers integrated into energy storage and harvesting devices. In addition to the applied point of view, the fundamental experimental and theoretical study of the electrical, ionic, and optoelectronic characteristics of conjugated polymers fabricated using different fabrication techniques, including solution-based, vapor phase deposition (VPP), oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD), initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD), and so on, will be considered.

Dr. Meysam Heydari Gharahcheshmeh
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. Energies 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

conjugated polymers
conducting polymers
semiconducting polymers
device integration
flexible electronics
biofunctional polymers
nanostructural characterization

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 11132 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimizing the Synthesis and Thermal Properties of Conducting Polymer–Montmorillonite Clay Nanocomposites

by Yanrong Zhu, Jude O. Iroh, Ramakrishnan Rajagopolan, Aydin Aykanat and Richard Vaia

Energies 2022, 15(4), 1291; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15041291 - 10 Feb 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 1864

Abstract

Given the availability of a wide range of properties not possessed by individual materials, nanocomposites based on conducting polymers and inorganic materials have attracted much deserved attention. However, there has been little attempt to optimize the synthesis and thermal properties of polyaniline–clay nanocomposites. In this study, the synthesis and thermal properties of polyaniline (PANi) and polyaniline–clay nanocomposites (PACN) were performed by systematically varying the feed composition. Both PANi and polyaniline–montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites were prepared by using ammonium persulfate (APS) as the oxidant. The chemical structure of the nanocomposites was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). FTIR spectra confirmed the presence of clay in the nanocomposites and the existence of mainly the emiraldine form of PANi. Thermal analysis was performed by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The morphology and structure of PANi and PACN were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our results confirm the intercalation and partial exfoliation of clay. This study also showed that increasing the oxidant concentration resulted in decreasing thermal stability and melting temperature of PANi. The reinforcement of PANi with MMT resulted in increased thermal stability and increased melting point of PANi. It was also shown that the addition of only about 0.1 wt% of APS resulted in an optimal thermal stability and melting point for PANi. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Conducting and Semiconducting Polymers for Energy Applications)

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Review

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28 pages, 9165 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Progress in Conjugated Conducting and Semiconducting Polymers for Energy Devices

by Meysam Heydari Gharahcheshmeh and Karen K. Gleason

Energies 2022, 15(10), 3661; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15103661 - 17 May 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3281

Abstract

Advanced conductors (such as conducting and semiconducting polymers) are vital building blocks for modern technologies and biocompatible devices as faster computing and smaller device sizes are demanded. Conjugated conducting and semiconducting polymers (including poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polyaniline (PANI), polythiophene (PTh), and polypyrrole (PPy)) provide the mechanical flexibility required for the next generation of energy and electronic devices. Electrical conductivity, ionic conductivity, and optoelectronic characteristics of advanced conductors are governed by their texture and constituent nanostructures. Thus, precise textural and nanostructural engineering of advanced conjugated conducting and semiconducting polymers provide an outstanding pathway to facilitate their adoption in various technological applications, including but not limited to energy storage and harvesting devices, flexible optoelectronics, bio-functional materials, and wearable electronics. This review article focuses on the basic interconnection among the nanostructure and the characteristics of conjugated conducting and semiconducting polymers. In addition, the application of conjugated conducting and semiconducting polymers in flexible energy devices and the resulting state-of-the-art device performance will be covered. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Conducting and Semiconducting Polymers for Energy Applications)

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