Structural Views of Electrically-Conductive Polymers

Fuel cells are being developed extensively, among which the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is focused. The details of the structural features of polymer membrane are needed to know for understanding the transportation mechanism of protons by means of computer simulations. In the second half part of this chapter, the structural details of the electrically-conductive polymers are viewed from the atomistic level. The basic theory of electric conductivity is introduced at first, and the mechanism of electric conductivity of polyacetylene and related polymer species is learned in relation with their concrete structural features. The techniques to investigate the structure of a thin electrically-conductive polymer film are learned additionally.