Polymeric and Organic Electronic Materials: From Scientific Curiosity to Applications
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their use in a wide variety of devices. The reports of light-emitting devices fabricated from molecular and oligomeric constituents in the mid-1980s and from polymeric constituents in 1990 stimulated interest in this area of research. In addition to the fundamental science of the semiconducting and highly conducting states there has been increased emphasis in the potential of these materials for a broad range of applications. The uses of the conducting polymers to dissipate static electricity have been under commercial development for some time. Formulations recently developed include polyanilines that blend well with polyolefins and polyethylenes. Some of these polymers, including doped polyanilines, are of interest in the areas of electromagnetic-interference shielding and electronbeam resists. The semiconducting forms of polymers (and related oligomers and molecules) have been of interest in areas ranging from light-emitting devices to uses as second-order and third-order nonlinear optical materials. Activity in these areas is facilitated by the ability to form spincoated and evaporated uniform films. Numerous other applications are dependent upon the polymers' change in optical or charge-transport properties upon exposure to various environments. These include uses for electrochromic displays, drug-delivery systems, volatile organic-compound sensors, photovoltaics, batteries, pH control, electronbeam resist, and anticorrosion coatings
for ferrous materials. The ability to make flexible antistatic coatings as well as solid and hollow fibers and films is important. Among other applications are gas-separation media and uses as antistatics for photographic film. The ease of chemical tuning for the various polymer classes, including derivitization, change of dopants, and variation of solvents facilitates the widest range of use. The articles in this issue represent a cross section of the field. However because of the diversity of present basic and applied activity in electronic polymers, the presentations here should not be viewed as limiting. The article on "Electrically Conducting Polymers: Science and Technology," by Epstein provides an introduction to the electrical conductivity of conducting polymers and its application in several technologies. The following article by MacDiarmid and Zheng, "Electrochemistry of Conjugated Polymers," introduces the electrochemical response of conjugated polymers and the technologies that rely upon this response. The issue then turns to articles concerned with phenomena in the semiconducting state of these polymers and molecular materials. The article by Yang, "Polymer Electroluminescent Devices," discusses light-emitting devices based on conjugating polymers. This is followed by a companion article by Tsutsui, "Recent Progress and Research on Organic Electroluminescence." The molecular, oligomeric, and polymeric light-emitting devices rely upon the interfaces between the light-emitting material and metallic electrodes. The article by Salaneck and Bredas presents the "Characteri
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