Conducting Polymers and Their Composites

Abstract

The on-going shrinkage in the size of electronic devices and the high-power generation of electrical appliances have led to new challenges in insulating polymers for packaging applications. The main aim of this review is to study fabrication of polymer composites coupled with improved electrical properties and thermal resistivity, with lower dielectric constant, lowers thermal expansion and the cost associated with the production of such composites. Polymeric materials are an excellent choice for production of electronic materials as they can be processed with ease and are economical. The disadvantage of using polymers for processing of electrically conductive materials is that they possess low thermal conductivity. However, the properties can be enhanced by incorporating appropriate fillers that have high thermal conductivity; these include boron nitride, aluminium oxide and silicon nitride. This chapter aims to review the available conducting polymers, fillers, processing techniques, final properties, and the end use applications of such conducting polymer composites.