Different Methods for Photochemical Synthesis of Conducting Polymers and their Applications

Properties of ICPs are strongly dependent on synthesis method, which can be chemical, electrochemical, or photochemical. Recently, photochemical synthesis of conductive polymers due to some advantages as lower cost, simpler equipment required, and capability for use in specific applications has been more attention than the other methods. Photopolymerization of conductive polymers, which generally, divided in two categories: (i) photoexcitation of the monomer and (ii) photopolymerization using photocatalytic species. In the first method, conductive monomer that itself working as a photosensitizer, directly absorb certain wavelengths of radiate light and excites; Subsequently, excited monomers initiate photopolymerization of other conductive monomers that not excited. One of the disadvantages of this method is long time for the polymerization. In the second method, a photosensitizer, such as Ruthenium complexes or organometallic complexes, used to catalyze the process, that absorbed certain wavelengths of radiate light and excites; then electron transfer reaction between excited species and electron acceptor has been performed and leading to strong oxidants formation, that able to polymerization of conductive monomers. In this review paper, various methods for photochemical synthesis of conducting polymers investigated.