Conductive polymers for frontier applications-an overview

Polymeric materials have been gaining increasing importance over the past. This is due mainly to the flexibility in regulation of characteristics of polymers at our convenience. At times, these materials compete with numerous metals and alloys in critical sectors like aerospace and defence owing to their easy processibility and lighter in weight. However, these sectors do not involve polymers in their parent state rather as composite polymers and nanostructured polymers. Even though polymers suffer from the inferior strength and high temperature resistance, yet they are regarded to be the most sought after materials when the properties electrical resistivity, and good oxidation resistance are counted. However, some of the industrial applications call for good conductivity, easy manufacturability, and better recyclability. In these regards, conductive polymers have been synthesized of recent to serve the purpose to become front liners in meeting the requirements of industry sector. The current paper critically emphasizes the background, classification, applications and characterization of polymers. Later, detailed study on conductive polymers is done where in the mechanism of conduction, characterization, and fabrications of conductive polymers are discussed at length. Ultimately, appropriate conclusions are drawn basing the review conducted.