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Dedication
This book is dedicated to Professor Alan G. MacDiarmid and to Our Families
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Preface Semiconducting polymers refer to polymeric materials with electrical conductivity in the range of 100 to 10" (Ohm cm)" . There are at least four major classes of semiconducting polymers: filled polymers, ionically conducting polymers, conjugated polymers, and charge transfer polymers. The first two classes have had a wide range of commercial applications; the last two have not been as successful. Conducting conjugated polymers and charge transfer polymers constitute two important subgroups in semiconducting organics, a field initiated by the discovery of electrical conductivity in molecular charge transfer complexes in 1954. A similar observation was made i n iodine doped polymers i n 1967. The discovery of metallic conductivity i n doped polyacetylene i n 1977 generated tremendous excitement in conducting conjugated polymers. After the discovery of superconducting molecular charge transfer complexes in 1980 and fullerenes in 1985, the field of semiconducting organics had finally evolved from phenomenological pursuit to application-driven research. Today, exploration of semiconducting polymers as active constituents i n electronic devices has become the major focal point. The international symposium on "Semiconducting Polymers" was held as part of the 215th A C S National Meeting i n Dallas on March 29-30, 1998. "Electroplastics for Plastic Electronics" was used as the symposium logo to heighten the applicationdriven orientation of electroactive polymer research and to suggest the arrival of the plastic electronics era. The ultimate goal of the field is to develop a wide range of polymeric materials with electronic properties of molecular solids and processability and mechanical properties of conventional polymers. The symposium consisted of a poster session and four oral sessions: (1) filled polymers and ionically conducting polymers; (2) conducting polymers; (3) charge transfer polymers; and (4) polymer L E D s . The session on conducting polymers was dedicated to A l a n G . M a c D i r a m i d for his pioneering contributions to conducting polymers. The symposium attracted an excellent attendance of 100-150 people, reflecting a strong interest in the field. Selected papers of the symposium were highlighted in an article entitled, "Plastics with an Electrical Bend," in the A p r i l 13, 1998 issue of Chemical and Engineering News (pages 41-46). This book comprises a collection of papers presented i n the symposium as well as several invited review papers. This volume is organized into three sections: Properties (Chapters 2-11); Device Applications (Chapters 11-19), and Synthesis and Fabrication (Chapters 20-27). This is in accordance the subtitle of the book, "Applications, Properties, and Synthesis," because they are three key, inseparable elements in today's materials research.
Semiconducting Polymers Downloaded from pubs.acs.org by FUDAN UNIV on 02/28/17. For personal use only.
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W e thank M a r y Galvin for help in organizing the meeting. W e are very grateful to the contributing authors for accepting the burden of contributing to this volume. W e thank Anne W i l s o n of the American Chemical Society Books Department for smooth cooperation and patient support. W e also thank the following organizations for their financial support o f the symposium: A C S Division of Polymer Chemistry, Inc., A C S Petroleum Research Fund, National Science Foundation (Materials Research Program), Hewlett-Packard Company, 3 M , and Xerox Corporation.
Semiconducting Polymers Downloaded from pubs.acs.org by FUDAN UNIV on 02/28/17. For personal use only.
BING R. HSIEH
The Wilson Center for Research and Technology Xerox Corporation 800 Phillips Road, 114-22D Webster, NY 14580 Y E N WEI
Department of Chemistry Drexel University 32 and Chestnut Streets Philadelphia, PA 19104 nd
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