CHARGE TRANSPORT IN ELECTROACTIVE POLYMERS CONSISTING OF FIXED MOLECULAR REDOX SITES

Electrochemically reactive polymers of molecular sites that act as discrete positions of donor and acceptor electron transfer activity are electrical conductors by the mechanism of electron self-exchange reactions between the molecular positions. The electrochemically reactive materials are also ionically conducting. This paper discusses some current issues related to the polymeric electron self-exchange dynamics, including separation of electron from ion mobility, theory that accounts for currents limited by concentration polarized and by electrical potential gradients, and the consequences of site dilution as found in differing degrees of mixed valency and when non-electroactive sites are added. Recent transport data are presented that compare electron transport dynamics under concentration polarized and electrical gradient-driven conditions. © 1990.