Ionic conductivity of conjugated water‐soluble rigid‐rod polymers

Poly[(1,7-dihydrobenzo [1,2-d:4,5-d'] diimidazole-2,6-diyl)-2-(2-sulfo) -p-phenylene], a conjugated rigid-rod polymer, was derivatized with pendants of propane-sulfonated ionomers. The derivatized rigid-rod polymer was soluble in aprotic solvents as well as in water for isotropic solutions that were processed into isotropic films. Room-temperature electrical conductivity σ as high as 2.9×10 -4 S/cm was achieved on pristine isotropic films without using dopants. When the rigid-rod polymer concentration exceeded 25 wt %, the isotropic solution could be transformed into a liquid-crystalline solution that allowed deformations to be applied to produce anisotropic films