Smart polymers

Computer Engineering electronics Engineering Civil Engineering

Smart polymers or stimuli-responsive polymers are high-performance polymers that change according to the environment they are in.

ionomer

An ionomer is a polymer that comprises repeat units of both electrically neutral repeating units and a fraction of ionized units (usually no more than 15 percent). Ionomers have unique physical properties including electrical conductivity and isoviscosity -- increase in ionomer solution viscosity with increasing temperatures (see conducting polymer). Some commercial applications for ionomers are golf ball covers, semipermeable membranes, sealing tape and thermoplastic elastomers.

CONDUCTIVE POLYMERS

Conductive polymers or, more precisely, intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) are organic polymers that conduct electricity. Such compounds may have metallic conductivity or can be semiconductors. The biggest advantage of conductive polymers is their processability, mainly by dispersion. Conductive polymers are generally not plastics, i.e., they are not thermoformable. But, like insulating polymers, they are organic materials. They can offer high electrical conductivity but do not show mechanical properties as other commercially used polymers do. The electrical properties can be fine-tuned using the methods of organic synthesis and by advanced dispersion techniques.