ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING ORGANOMETALLIC POLYMERS

Polyacetylene, which exhibits metallic‐like electrical conductivity upon redox doping, led to the development of a new class of electronic materials. Metallic conductivity in polyacetylene originates from the mobility of charge‐carriers along the highly conjugated π‐electron carbon backbone. On the other hand, organometallic polymer backbones comprising transition‐metal ions and highly conjugated ligands may themselves produce intrinsically conducting materials due to the increased molecular orbital interaction between metal atoms via ligands. For decades organometallic polymers have been the subject of great scientific interest due to their unique electrical properties and many potential uses. Following the discovery of polyacetylene, the cofacially joined metallophthalocyanine polymers emerged as a new class of electrically conducting polymers. This important class of conducting organometallic polymers now includes a wide variety of materials such as poly(metalyne), poly(metallophthalocyanines), metal poly(benzodithiolene), poly(metalloethylene tetrathiolate), poly(metal tetrathio‐oxalate), etc. Depending upon the molecular structures, many organometallic polymers are intrinsic conductors while in others metallic‐like conductivity is induced by a molecular doping process. The superiority of electrically conducting organometallic polymers is manifest in their excellent environmental stability and processability. Conducting organometallic polymers have a wide range of applications in electrocatalysis, photovoltaics, sensors and fuel‐cell technology. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.