Conducting polymers: Halogen doped polyacetylene

Abstract

A study of the electrical conductivity of the halogen doped transpolyacetylene system, (CH)x, is reported. When films of trans- (CH)x are exposed to chlorine, bromine, or iodine vapor, uptake of halogen occurs; and the conductivity increases markedly, over eleven orders of magnitude in the case of iodine. The behavior of the halogenated polyacetylene is like that of a series of semiconductors with activation energies which vary with halogen content. The results are discussed in terms of a model of the doping process based on charge transfer.