POLARON AND BIPOLARON DEFECTS IN POLYMERS - POLYANILINE

The stable defect states of conjugated polymers have been the subject of intensive experimental and theoretical study for the past decade. Results are summarized for the emeraldine oxidation state of polyaniline. This polymer differs from previously studied polymer systems in that the polymer backbone consists of alternating C6H4 rings and N atoms. The resulting π band is initially more than half filled so that charge conjugation symmetry is no longer present. These differences have major implications for the types of phenomena observed in these systems.