New Routes to Conducting Polymers and New Insights into Structure-Properties Relations

Abstract
The structure of conducting polymers is discussed in comparison to simple, so-called organic metals derived from naphthalene and similar arenes. In this context the conducting polymers are viewed as ion-radical salts of the backbone-units. This view is substantiated by recent results from X-ray investigations on electrochemically oxidized p-quaterphenyl as a model for poly(p-phenylene), poly-pyrrol salts of detergent ions and oxidized, highly oriented polyacetylene.