CONTROL OF POLYMERIZATION KINETICS AND RATE OF POLYMER PRECIPITATION AS A MEANS OF CONTROLLING THE AGGREGATION AND MORPHOLOGY IN CONDUCTIVE POLYMERS AND PRECURSORS THEREOF

摘要

The present invention relates to an electrically conductive polymer having a controlled level of aggregation and morphology and a method for producing the precursor thereof. This is accomplished by controlling the rate of polymerization reaction and the rate at which the polymer precipitates out of solution during the polymerization reaction. Additives that accelerate or decelerate the rate at which the polymer precipitates from the reaction medium are added to the polymerization reaction medium. When the additive is a second organic solvent, the polymerization reaction proceeds homogeneously for a longer period of time than in the corresponding polymerization reaction without additives. By controlling the rate of polymerization reaction, it becomes possible to control the shape of the isolated polymer, and thus to control the properties of these polymers.