BIBFRAME Work

Title

The origins and early history of conjugated organic polymers

Type

• Monograph
• Text

Contribution

• Rasmussen, Seth C. (author )

Subject

Conjugated polymers--History (LCSH)

Language

• eng

Illustrative Content

• illustrations

Classification

• LCC: QD382.C66 R37 2025 (Assigner: dlc) (Status: uba)
• DDC: 547/.70457 (Assigner: dlc)

Content

• text

Supplementary content

• index
• bibliography

Summary

"Conjugated organic polymers are intrinsic semiconducting materials that exhibit enhanced conductivity upon oxidation or reduction. The unusual nature of this class of organic polymers was brought into particular focus in the late 1970s with the first example of conductivity values in the metallic regime, for which the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Hideki Shirakawa, Alan MacDiarmid, and Alan Heeger. As such, it is generally believed that these materials are a relatively recent advancement and originated with this polyacetylene work in the 1970s. This accepted narrative, however, ignores the fact that reports of electrically conductive polymers date back to the early 1960s, with the study of conjugated polymers as a whole dating back to the early 19th century. In fact, the oldest member of this family, polyaniline, predates even polystyrene and is the oldest known fully synthetic organic polymer. Unfortunately, the historical narrative of these polymers is quite muddled in the primary literature, with various inaccuracies and falsehoods commonly propagated. To present a more accurate account as a resource for the field, this book aims to present a comprehensive history of the origin and development of conjugated organic polymers, covering the period of 1834 to the late 1980s. In the process, the history of the first six primary parent polymers (polyaniline, polypyrrole, polyphenylene, poly(phenylene vinylene), polyacetylene, and polythiophene) are all presented, as well as the birth of low bandgap polymers in the mid-1980s"-- Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

Polyaniline -- Polypyrrole -- Polyphenylene and poly(phenylene vinylene) -- Polyacetylene -- Polythiophene -- Polyisothianaphthene and the birth of low bandgap polymers -- Retrospective on the search for organic conductors and the nature of discovery.

Authorized Access Point

Rasmussen, Seth C. The origins and early history of conjugated organic polymers

Admin Metadata

• Date: 2026-09-12T02:11:50.977771+00:00
• Agent: cbc
• Status: c
• Derived from: 24107404

Admin Metadata

• Date: 2026-09-12
• Cataloger id: Unknown
• Description level: bibframe-2-6-0
• Description language: eng
• Description authentication: pcc