Most known polymer materials behave like good electrical insulators; therefore, most sheaths of electric cable are made of polypropylene. However, a specific group of polymers known as conjugated polymers reveal amazing electrical properties. Thanks to a simple oxido-reduction reaction known as chemical doping, electrical properties of conjugated polymers can be increased by a few orders of magnitude and can even become comparable to the conductivity of some common metals such as iron and copper, which is suggested by the term they are known by: synthetic metals. As a matter of interest. Synthetic Metals is the name of an international scientific journal that publishes works done on conducting polymers, and Professor Alan Heeger (co-winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry) has long been its principal editor The interest for conducting plastics is that, in a single material, the electrical properties of metal can be combined with the mechanical properties of polymers (plasticity, lightness, ease of manufacture, low cost, etc.) This potential leads to significant advances in the development of conducting polymers for technological applications. Some of them have been achieved, e.g.. antistatic plastic films that cover photography films produced by Agfa-Gevaert SA.

Inspec keywords: polymer insulators; polymers; plastics

Other keywords: polymer materials; polymer mechanical property; metal electrical property; electrical insulator; plastic electronics; polypropylene; conductivity; synthetic metal; electric cable; chemical doping; conjugated polymers; oxido-reduction reaction

Subjects: Power line supports, insulators and connectors