Multifunctional and biomimicking electrochemical properties of conducting polymers

摘要

Electrochemical oxidation and reduction taking place in films of a conducting polymer involve: generation and annihilation of positive charges on the polymeric chains, conformational changes along the polymeric chains, coulombic repulsions and generation of free volume with interchange of ions and water molecules between the polymer and the solution. So, electric pulses, conformational changes, ionic and aqueous interchanges are involved, as it occurs during most of the biological functions. Those changes induce, simultaneously, different electrochemical properties: electrochemomechanical by swelling and shrinking processes, electrochromic by change of the molecular orbitals, charge storage by accumulation of positive or negative charges, electron-ion transduction between an electronic conductor and an electrolyte. All those properties mimic biological functions: muscles, mimicking skins, electric organs or nervous pulses. Some of the developed devices as sensing actuators (muscles), or smart membranes are presented.