Highly conducting polymers based on polyacetylene hydrogen sulphate: Preparation and stability studies

Abstract Oxidation of polyacetylene with sulphuric acid, leading to the formation of highly conducting polymer films, was studied under varying conditions. It was found that the highest quality films were obtained in the gas phase reaction with 98% H 2 SO 4 where the H 2 SO 4 H 2 O ratio is crucial for correct doping. The reaction product can be formulated as [CH(HSO 4 ) y ] x . Oxygen attack leads to the irreversible degradation of the polyene chain and reaction with H 2 O results in compensation of the dopant anions.