Colloquium
November 18, 2005

Pawan K. Kahol
Department of Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science
Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri

Metallic Characteristics in Some Conducting Polymers

Conducting polymers along with high-T_c superconductors are among the most rewarding materials discovered in recent years. Both have led to Nobel prizes. While an exceedingly large amount of experimental and theoretical work has helped elucidate the superconductivity mechanism and related phenomena, high temperature superconductors are facing technical barriers toward application. In contrast, a number of technologies based on conducting polymers are now in service. Unavoidable complications associated with polymeric materials, experimental investigations of fundamental properties have been somewhat limited.

One basic parameter for metallic characterization is the density of states at the Fermi level, which has been evaluated for various polymers through EPR, static measurements, or low temperature calorimetry. The effects of excessive doping on the density of states at the Fermi level will be discussed in some conducting polymers.