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CONDUCTING POLYMERS

The switch is on

Nature Nanotechnology volume 15, pages 7–8 (2020)Cite this article

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Nanostructures of electrically conducting polymers show plasmonic behaviour that indicates their promise as switchable optical materials.

Those who have recently bought a smartphone or a television set might be familiar with the acronym ‘OLED’. These devices use organic light emitting diodes to produce the images we see. Advantages of using organic materials as light sources include low energy consumption and the ability to use plastic and/or flexible substrates (imagine a flexible phone). A recent prediction by IDTechEx1 indicates that the OLED market will reach US$60 billion by 2027, highlighting how widespread the use of these materials and devices has become.

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Fig. 1: Switchable plasmonic effect in nanodiscs of conducting polymers.

References

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  1. Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, South Australia, Australia

    Drew Evans

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  1. Drew Evans
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Correspondence to Drew Evans.

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Evans, D. The switch is on. Nat. Nanotechnol. 15, 7–8 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0588-6

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