8. Characteristics of Conducting Polymers

Conducting polymers (CPs) have gained recent attention from the research community due to the extraordinary combination of properties including tunable electrical conductivity, easy route of preparation, light in weight, easy to process, etc. These exclusive properties enable the use of CPs in many intriguing applications including modern electrochemical devices. The commonly adopted synthesis strategies utilized for the synthesis of CPs include chemical and electrochemical polymerization routes. The electrical conductivity of CPs can be tuned easily by altering the types of doping and concentration of doping. This chapter also discusses the efficacy and benefits of dopants to improve the conduction properties of common CPs. The new application areas of CPs comprise supercapacitors, sensors, solar cells, corrosion inhibitors, light-emitting diodes, EMI shielding, electrochromic devices, transistors, and many more. This review provides concise yet comprehensive introductory information on the CPs including the types of common CPS, their mechanism of conduction, attractive properties, and diverse application areas to have a broad overview of this field of research.