Electrically conductive, processable polymeric materials constructed from metallophthalocyanines

This contribution describes an approach to producing new classes of macromolecular/macromolecular and molecular/macromolecular hybrid materials which can be spun into environmentally stable, flexible, oriented, electrically conductive fibers. Solutions of a phthalocyanine-containing macromolecular (e.g., [Si(Pc)O]_n) or molecular(e.g., Ni(Pc)) 'metal' precursor and a host polymer (e.g., Kevlar) are wet-spun to yield, after halogen or electrochemical doping, strong, air-stable fibers with thermally activated electronic conductivities as high as 5 ω^-1 cm^-1. X-ray diffraction and resonance Raman studies of the fibers reveal the presence of preferentially oriented Kevlar and {[Si(Pc)O]I_1.1}_n (or M(Pc)I) crystalline regions, the latter regions with the metallophthalocyanine stacking directions preferentially parallel to the longitudinal fiber axis.