L’objectif de ce travail de thèse était de développer des encres organiques de polymères semi-conducteurs. Il s’est ainsi agi de synthétiser des latex de poly (3,4-éthylènedioxythiophène) (PEDOT) dispersibles en milieux organiques (cyclohexane ou toluène) par polymérisation oxydative de l’EDOT en présence de stabilisant stériques et/ou électrostatiques. Le stabilisant est un polymère fonctionnalisé par une unité ou plusieurs unités fonctionnelles qui peuvent réagir avec la chaîne de PEDOT en croissance assurant ainsi des liaisons covalentes ou électrostatiques entre celui-ci et le stabilisant. La taille des particules de PEDOT est contrôlée par la masse molaire, la concentration et par la fonctionnalité du stabilisant. Le PEDOT obtenu est caractérisé par diffusion de la lumière (DLS), par microscopie électronique à balayage (MEB) microscopie électronique à transmission (TEM) et par des mesures de conductivité. / Spherical poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nano-particles with narrow size distribution were prepared in organic dispersant media in the presence of iron(III) chloride FeCl3 or iron(III) dodecylbenzenesulfonate {Fe(DBS)3} as oxidant and a functionalized polyisoprene (ω-R-PI) as a stabilizer. Two kinds of functionalized polyisoprene were used as stabilizers. Pyrrole, fluorene, Thiophene and methylthiophene end caped polyisoprenes were used as reactive stabilizers. Lithium sulfonate end caped polyisoprene was used as steric stabilizer. The effect of the nature of the solvent, the molar mass, the concentration, and the nature of the functional end unit of the stabilizer on the size and morphology of PEDOT particles were investigated. Polyisoprenes containing sulfonate groups were also used as steric/electrostatic stabilizers. By this way, the sulfonate groups act as counter ions for oxidized PEDOT leading to electrostatic attraction between it and the stabilizer, ensuring stabilization of the latex. Four kinds of polyisoprene-based steric electrostatic stabilizers having one or many sulfonate groups were prepared: sulfonate end-capped polyisoprene (PI-SO3Li), partially sulfonated polyisoprene (PIS), polyisoprene grafted to polystyrene sulfonate (PI-g-PSS) and polyisoprene grafted to polyisoprene sulfonate (PI-g-PIS). The effects of the molar mass of the stabilizer and the sulfonate group content on the PEDOT particle morphology were studied.PEDOT samples were characterized with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis and conductivity measurements.

This thesis deals with organic materials and determining their electrical parameters. In the thesis are discussed methods of deposition of organic layers and their measurement. Described are the aspects, which are characteristic for organic materials. They will briefly mention some new components and commercial systems. Special attention is given to conducting polymers and determining their parameters. In the experimental part were measured VA and impedance characteristics of the conductive polymer PEDOT-PSS. The research was also about material degradation in time and effects of thickness on the electrical parameters.

The subject of the present licentiate thesis is density functional theorybased electronic structure calculations of organic thermoelectric materials and novel organic molecules. We used the Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics method in order to investigate the electronic structure of “green energy” and “greenchemistry” compounds. First, we have investigated the electronic structure of the poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and its derivatives - the best studied and successfully implemented by industry organic thermoelectric material. Its transparency, low toxicity and high stability in the oxidized state are combined withan ability to produce electrical current when applying a temperature gradient. This makes PEDOT a perfect “organic metal” and a first candidate for organic thermoelectrogenerators - devices that can produce “green energy” from a temperature difference. The average structures found in these quantum dynamical simulations agree well with earlier static electronic structure studies. The energy gap of two, four and six unit oligomers of PEDOT was calculated and was found to lie in the range of previous theoretical studies. We have also calculatedthe point-charge distributions along the polymer backbone in order to investigate the polaron formed by doping agents of PEDOT. Our analysis allowed us to predict possible localization of the charge in the center of the polymer chain. However, further calculations of the twelve unit PEDOT and its selenium and tellurium derivatives will provide more information. First-principles calculations for the tellurium derivative of PEDOT are here presented for the first time. The second part of our investigation concerns theoretical calculations of novel piperidine-containing acetylene glycols. These molecules were newly synthesized by our experimental collaborators and are expected to provideplant growth stimulation properties, the same as its diacetylene analogs. We performed quantum mechanical calculations of four compounds, presented ananalysis of the highest occupied and lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals and collected detailed information on point-charges for further parametrization of novel molecules for future computational studies. According to these results, the low production yield found in the experiments cannot be attributed to chemical instability in these novel compounds. / <p>QC 20150629</p> / ScalTEG SSF

1. Zielstellung der Arbeit war die Entwicklung von Musterkennungsmethoden zur automatischen Klassifizierung von Gasen. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, wurde die Reduktionsmethode Parameterabschätzung mittels Adaptive-Simulated-Annealing (ASA-PE) und eine Committee machine (CM) zur Klassifikation entwickelt. 2. Mittels PEDOT:PSS-Sensoren wurden mit Hilfe der Impedanzspektroskopie NH3 und NO2 in unterschiedlichen Konzentrationen gemessen. Die aufgenommenen Messdaten wurden durch die ASA-PE, die Komplexe Haupt-komponentenanalyse (CPCA) und die Discriminant analyses via Support Vector (SVDA) reduziert. 3. Der Vergleich der Merkmalsextraktionsmethoden zeigt: Die in dieser Arbeit neu entwickelte Methode ASA-PE liefert im Vergleich dazu ein sicheres Segmentierungs-Ergebnis. 4. Der Vergleich zwischen ASA-PE und ZView zeigt, dass die ASA-PE eine sichere Methode für die automatisierte Gasanalyse ist. Aber bei zweidimensionalen Merkmalen gibt es einen Bereich, in dem sich eine gemeinsame Häufung einstellt, welche zu einer Irritation in der Auswertung von CPCA und SVDA führen kann. Dieses Problem kann durch eine Erhöhung der Anzahl von Merkmalen gelöst werden. 5. Es wurden sechs die Klassifikationsmethoden: Abstandsgewichtete k-Nächste-Nachbarn-Klassifikation (DW-kNN), das mehrlagige Perzeptron (MLP), Support Vector Machine (SVM), CM, CM ohne MLP und CM mit Abstandskontrolle und AAi-Filter untersucht und miteinander verglichen. Um die Klassifikationsmethoden anzulernen wurden alle Merkmalsreduktions-ergebnisse der CPCA, SVDA und der ASA-PE in Trainings- und Testdaten eingeteilt. 6. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Kombination aus One-Against-All-SVM (OAA-SVM) und ASA-PE die besten Erkennungsraten liefert. Bei 200 Trainingsdatensätzen wird eine Erkennungsrate von bis zu 99.5% erzielt. Durch diese Kombination können jedoch nur 8 Typen ohne Identifikation von unbekannten Typen ermittelt werden. 7. Wenn das MLP aus CM entfernt wird, werden die Resultate von CM leicht verbessert. Mit Hilfe von 6-Sigma zeigt CM ohne MLP eine gute Erkennungsrate für unbekannte Gase und gleichzeitig bleibt die Erkennungsrate auf einem befriedigenden Niveau. 8. Die Streuung der ASA-PE führt zu einer schlechten Abgrenzung zwischen bekannten und unbekannten Gasen. Stattdessen zeigt die Kombination von CM ohne MLP und CPCA in diesem Fall eine gute Abgrenzung.:Abstract II Danksagung III Inhaltsverzeichnis IV Abkürzungen VII 1 Einführung 1.1 Einleitung 1.2 Entwicklungen bei Gassensoren 1.2.1 Fortschritte bei Material und Messmethode 1.2.2 Fortschritte bei Mustererkennungsmethoden 1.3 Motivation 1.4 Struktur der Arbeit 2 Verfahren zur Gasanalyse 2.1 Messverfahren 2.1.1 Impedanzspektroskopie als Detektionsmethode 2.1.1.1 Definition der Impedanz 2.1.1.2 Bauelemente des elektrischen Modells 2.1.2 Optische Verfahren 2.1.3 Elektrochemische Verfahren 2.2 Merkmalerkennung 2.2.1 Merkmalsreduktion 2.2.1.1 Komplexe Hauptkomponentenanalyse (Engl. Complex Principal Component Analysis) 2.2.1.2 Kernel-Diskriminanzanalyse mittels Support Vektoren (engl. kernel Discriminant Analysis via Support Vector) 2.2.2 Klassifikationsverfahren 2.2.2.1 Abstands-gewichtete k-Nächste-Nachbarn-Klassifikation (engl. Distance weighted k-Nearest-Neighbor-Algorithms, DW-kNN) 2.2.2.2 Mehrlagiges Perzeptron (MLP) 2.2.2.3 Support Vektor Maschine (SVM) 3 Eigene Mustererkennungsverfahren 3.1 Parameterschätzung mittels Adaptive-Simulated-Annealing (ASA-PE) 3.1.1 Allgemeines Impedanzspektroskopiemodell eines Gassensors 3.1.2 Parameterschätzung 3.1.3 Die Optimierungsverfahren 3.2 Committee machine 4 Anwendungsbeispiel 4.1 Experiment mit einem Gassensor aus PEDOT:PSS 4.1.1 Sensoraufbau und vereinfachtes Sensormodell 4.2 Experimentelle Ergebnisse 4.2.1 Messaufbau und Versuchsdurchführung 4.2.2 Vorbereitung zur Messung 4.2.3 Durchführung der Messung 4.2.4 Fehlerbetrachtung 4.2.5 Messergebnisse des Gassensors 4.3 Ergebnisse der Merkmalreduktion 4.3.1 CPCA und SVDA 4.3.2 Parameterschätzung mittels Adaptive-Simulated-Annealing (ASA-PE) 4.4 Ergebnisse der Klassifikationen 4.4.1 Ergebnisse der Gasbestimmung mittels Trainingssatz und Testsatz 4.4.1.1 DW-kNN 4.4.1.2 MLP 4.4.1.3 OAO-SVM 4.4.1.4 OAA-SVM 4.4.1.5 Committee machine 4.4.1.6 CM ohne MLP 4.4.1.7 CM mit AAi-Filter 4.4.2 Abhängigkeit der Klassifikationsergebnisse von der Anzahl der Trainingsdaten 5 Zusammenfassung und Ausblick 5.1 Zusammenfassung 5.2 Ausblick Abbildungsverzeichnis Formelverzeichnis Literaturverzeichnis

Rechargeable Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors are the most promising electrochemical energy storage devices in terms of energy density and power density, respectively. Recently, nanostructured materials have gained enormous interest in the field of energy technology as they have special properties compared to the bulk. Commercially available Li-ion batteries, which are the most advanced among the rechargeable batteries, utilize microcrystalline transition metal oxides as cathode materials which act as lithium insertion hosts. To explore better electrochemical performance the use of nanomaterials instead of conventional materials would be an excellent alternative. High Li-ion insertion at high discharge rates causes slow Li+ transport which in turn results in concentration polarization of lithium ions within the electrode material, causing a drop in cell voltage. This eventually, leads in termination of the discharge process before realizing the maximum capacity of the electrode material being used. This problem can be addressed by decreasing the average particle size which leads to an increase in surface area of the electrode material. Nanostructured materials, because of their high surface area and large surface to volume ratio, to some extent can overcome the problem of slow diffusion of ions. Supercapacitors are electrical energy storage devices which can deliver large energy in a short time. A supercapacitor can be used as an auxiliary energy device along with a primary source such as a battery or a fuel cell to achieve power enhancement in short pulse applications. Active materials for supercapacitors are classified into three categories: (i) carbonaceous materials, (ii) conducting polymers and (iii) metal oxides. Among the materials studied over the years, metal oxides have been considered as attractive electrode materials for supercapacitors due to the following merits: variable oxidation state, good chemical and electrochemical stability, ease of preparation and handling. The performance of supercapacitors can be enhanced by moving from bulk to nanostructured materials. The theme of the thesis is to explore novel routes to synthesize nanostructured materials for Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors, and to investigate their physical and electrochemical characteristics. Chapter I is an introduction of various types of electrochemical energy systems such as battery, fuel cell and supercapacitor. A brief review is made on electrode materials for Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors, and nanostructured materials. Chapter II deals with the study of nanostrip orthorhombic V2O5 synthesized by a two-step procedure, with the formation of a vanadyl ethylene glycolate precursor and post-calcination treatment. The precursor and the final product are characterized for phase and composition by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, thermal analysis (TGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The morphological changes are investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). It is found that the individual strips have the following dimensions, length: 1.3 μm, width: 332 nm and thickness: 45 nm. The electrochemical lithium intercalation and de-intercalation of nanostrip V2O5 is investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling, galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Chapter III describes the synthesis of nanoparticels of LiMn2O4 by microwave assisted hydrothermal method. The phase and purity of spinel LiMn2O4 are confirmed by powder XRD analysis. The morphological studies are carried out using FE-SEM and HRTEM. The electrochemical performance of spinel LiMn2O4 is studied by using CV and galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling. The initial discharge capacity is found to be about 89 mAh g-1 at a current density of 21 mA g-1 with reasonably good cyclability. Chapter IV deals with synthesis of MoO2 nanoparticles through ethylene glycol medium and its electrochemical characterization. XRD data confirms the formation MoO2 on monoclinic phase, space group P21/c. Polygon shape of MoO2 is observed in HRTEM. MoO2 facilitates reversible insertion-extraction of Li+ ions between 0.25 to 3.0 V vs. Li/Li+. CV and galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling are conducted on this anode material to complement the electrochemical data. Chapter V reports the synthesis of nanostructured MnO2 at ambient conditions by reduction of potassium permanganate with aniline. Physical characterization is carried out to identify the phase and morphology. The as prepared MnO2 is amorphous and it contains particles of 5 to 10 nm in diameter. On annealing at a temperature > 400 °C, the amorphous MnO2 attains crystalline α-phase with a concomitant change in morphology. A gradual conversion of nanoparticles to nanorods (length 500-750 nm and diameter 50-100 nm) is evident from SEM and TEM studies. High resolution TEM images suggest that nanoparticles and nanorods grow in different crystallographic planes. The electrochemical lithium intercalation and de-intercalation of nanorods was performed by (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling. The initial discharge capacity of nanorod α-MnO2 is found to be about 197 mAh g-1 at a current density of 13.0 mA g-1. Capacitance behavior of amorphous MnO2 is studied by CV and galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling in a potential range from -0.2 to 1.0 V vs. SCE in 0.1 M sodium sulphate solution. The effect of annealing on specific capacitance is also investigated. Specific capacitance of about 250 F g-1 is obtained for as prepared MnO2 at a current density of 0.5 mA cm-2 (0.8 A g-1). Chapter VI pertains to electrochemical supercapacitor studies on nanostructured MnO2 synthesized by polyol method. Although X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the as synthesized nano-MnO2 shows poor crystallinity, it is found that it is locally arranged in δ-MnO2 type layered structure composed of edge-shared network of MnO6 octahedra by Mn K-edge X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) measurement. Annealed MnO2 shows high crystalline tunneled based α-MnO2 as confirmed by powder XRD pattern and XANES. As synthesized MnO2 exhibits good cyclability as an electrode material for supercapacitor. In Chapter VII, capacitance behavior of nanostrip V2O5, TiO2 coated V2O5 and nanocomposites of PEDOT/V2O5 are presented. Structural and morphological studies are carried out by powder XRD, IR, TGA, SEM and TEM. Cyclic voltammogram of pristine V2O5 shows the regular rectangular shape indicating the ideal capacitance behavior in aqueous 0.1 M K2SO4. The SC value of pristine V2O5 is found to be about 100 F g-1. Nanostrip V2O5 is modified with TiO2 using titanium isobutoxide to enhance the capacitance retention upon cycling. Only 48 % of the initial capacitance remains in the case of pristine V2O5 after 100 cycles, while TiO2 coated V2O5 exhibits better cyclability with capacitance of 70 % of the initial capacitance. The capacitance retention is attributed to the presence of TiO2 on the surface of V2O5 which prevents the vanadium dissolution into the electrolyte. Microwave assisted hydrothermally synthesized PEDOT/V2O5 nanocomposites are utilized as capacitor materials. The initial SC of PEDOT/V2O5 (237 F g-1) is higher than that of either pristine V2O5 or PEDOT. The enhanced electrochemical performance is attributed to synergic effect and an enhanced bi-dimensionality. Details of the above studies are described in the thesis with a conclusion at the end of each Chapter.

No description available.

[ES] En este trabajo se estudiarán y fabricarán electrodos y sensores depositados mediante diferentes técnicas de impresión sobre sustratos flexibles. En la primera parte se desarrollarán y se comprobará el funcionamiento de electrodos concéntricos tanto bipolares como tripolares para la captación de las señales de la actividad eléctrica del corazón humano. Se probarán tres tipos de deposición de tintas como son el huecograbado, la serigrafía y la inyección de tinta. Las tintas empleadas serán conductoras a base de plata (Ag) y grafito (C) como semiconductoras a base de polímeros orgánicos como el PEDOT-PSS. En otro capítulo se desarrollará y comprobará el funcionamiento de un "touch pad" realizado sobre sustratos textiles, también se desarrollará y comprobará el funcionamiento de un sensor gestual 3D implementado sobre sustrato textiles. Se analizarán la influencia los diferentes elementos constructivos sobre los sensores hápticos capacitivos implementados sobre sustratos textiles. Se analizarán distintas telas con diferentes tratamientos, midiendo las características eléctricas y su iteración con tintas conductoras (Ag) y tintas con polímeros orgánicos semiconductores y aislantes (dieléctricos). Finalmente se utilizará una tinta polimérica semiconductora a base de PEDOT-PSS para la realización de sensores resistivos de humedad y temperatura. Dicha tinta se probará en distintos sustratos, tanto flexibles (textiles y film plástico) como rígidos (alúmina). / [CA] En aquest treball s'estudiaran i fabricaran elèctrodes i sensors dipositats mitjançant tècniques d'impressió diferents sobre substrats flexibles. A la primera part es desenvoluparan i es comprovarà el funcionament d'elèctrodes concèntrics tant bipolars com tripolars per a la captació dels senyals de l'activitat elèctrica del cor humà. Es provaran tres tipus de deposició de tintes com són el gravat al buit, la serigrafia i la injecció de tinta. Les tintes emprades seran conductores a base de plata (Ag) i grafit (C) com a semiconductores a base de polímers orgànics com el PEDOT-PSS. A un altre capítol es desenvoluparà i comprovarà el funcionament d'un "touch pad" realitzat sobre substrats tèxtils, també es desenvoluparà i comprovarà el funcionament d'un sensor gestual 3D implementat sobre substrats tèxtils. S'analitzaran la influència dels diferents elements constructius sobre els sensors hàptics capacitius implementats sobre substrats tèxtils. S'analitzaran diferents teles amb diferents tractaments, mesurant les característiques elèctriques i la seva iteració amb tintes conductores (Ag) i tintes amb polímers orgànics semiconductors i aïllants (dielèctrics). Finalment, s'utilitzarà una tinta polimèrica semiconductor a base de PEDOT-PSS per a la realització de sensors resistius d'humitat i temperatura. Aquesta tinta es provarà en diferents substrats, tant flexibles (tèxtils i film plàstic) com a rígids (alúmina). / [EN] In this work, electrodes and sensors deposited by different printing techniques on flexible substrates will be studied and manufactured. In the first part, the operation of both bipolar and tripolar concentric electrodes for capturing the signals of the electrical activity of the human heart will be developed and tested. Three types of ink deposition will be tested, such as gravure, screen printing and inkjet. The inks used will be conductive based on silver (Ag) and graphite (C) as semiconductor based on organic polymers such as PEDOT-PSS. In another chapter, the operation of a touch pad made on textile substrates will be developed and verified, and the operation of a 3D gesture sensor implemented on textile substrates will also be developed and verified. The influence of the different constructive elements on the capacitive haptic sensors implemented on textile substrates will be analyzed. Different fabrics with different treatments will be analyzed, measuring the electrical characteristics and their iteration with conductive inks (Ag) and inks with semiconductor and insulating organic polymers (dielectric). Finally, a semiconductor polymeric ink based on PEDOT-PSS will be used for the realization of resistive humidity and temperature sensors. This ink will be tested on different substrates, both flexible (textiles and plastic film) and rigid (alumina). / Lidón Roger, JV. (2022). Estudio, desarrollo e implementación de sensores y actuadores realizados con tintes poliméricos sobre substratos flexibles mediante diferentes técnicas de deposición [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/187446 / TESIS

Conductive polymers are also known as "organic metals" due to their semiconducting properties. They are found in a wide range of applications in the field of organic electronics. However, the growing number of experimental works is not widely supported with theoretical calculations. Hence, the field of conductive polymers is experiencing lack of understanding of mechanisms occurring in the polymers. In this PhD thesis, the aim is to increase understanding of conductive polymers by performing theoretical calculations.        The polymers poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) together with its selenium (PEDOS) and tellurium (PEDOTe) derivatives, poly(p-phenylene) (PPP) and naphthobischalcogenadiazoles (NXz) were studied. Several computational methods were applied for analysis of mentioned structures, including density functional theory (DFT), tight-binding modelling (TB), and Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) calculations. The combination of CPMD and DFT calculations was applied to investigate the PEDOT, PEDOS and PEDOTe. The polymers were studied using four different functionals in order to investigate the full picture of structural changes, electronic and optical properties. Temperature effects were studied using molecular dynamics simulations. Wide statistics for structural and molecular orbitals analysis were collected.         The TB method was employed for PPP. The formation and motion of the excitations, polarons and bipolarons, along the polymer backbone was investigated in presence of electric and magnetic fields. The influence of non-magnetic and magnetic impurities was determined.        The extended π-conjugated structures of NXz were computed using B3LYP and ωB97XD functionals in combination with the 6-31+G(d) basis set. Here, the structural changes caused by polaron formation were analyzed. The combined analysis of densities of states and absorption spectra was used for understanding of the charge transition. / <p>QC 20170928</p>

The Thesis reports charge transport studies on conducting polymers, polymer carbon nanotube composites and organic semiconductor devices. Conducting and semiconducting polymers consisting of π-conjugated chains have attracted considerable attention as they combine the optoelectronic properties of semiconductors with mechanical properties and processing advantages of plastics. The chemical/electrochemical/photodoping of these semiconducting polymers can tune the Fermi levels and conductivity in a controlled way, and hence the properties of devices can be easily tailored to suit in several applications. Carbon nanotube (CNT) is another another novel promising material for electronic/optoelectronic applications. Lately there has been a great interest in developing composites of polymer and CNTs to utilize the advantages of both CNTs and polymers. The inclusion of CNTs in polymers improves the mechanical, electrical and thermal properties since the aspect ratio (ratio of length to diameter) is very large, as well its density is rather low. The Thesis consists of 6 chapters. First chapter is a brief introduction of general and transport properties of conducting polymers and polymer-carbon nanotube composites. In Chapter 2, the sample preparation and experimental techniques used in this work are discussed. The charge transport in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS) is presented in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 focuses on the transport measurements in the polymer-CNT composite samples. Chapter 5 elaborates the ac and dc characterization of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). And chapter 6 presents the conclusion and future directions of the work that has been presented in the Thesis. Chapter 1: In the scientific and technological revolution of the last few years, the study of high performance materials has been steadily increasing including the study of carbon-based materials. Conducting polymers have special properties that are interesting for this new technology. The charge transport in conjugated polymers is important to optimize the performance of devices. The discovery of CNTs with exceptional thermal, mechanical, optical, electrical and structural properties has facilitated the synthesis of new type of nanocomposites with very interesting properties. Nanocomposites represent a guest-host matrix consisting of easily processible functionalized conjugated polymer as host, incorporating CNTs as fillers with versatile electronic and magnetic properties, which provide a wide range of technological applications. To optimize their electrical properties it is essential to understand the charge transport mechanism in detail. Chapter 2: The multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) are mixed with a 1:1 mixture of 98% H2SO4 and 70% HNO3 to produce sulfonic acid functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes (s-MWNTs). The s-MWNTs are dispersed in a solution of Nafion by ultrasonication and then cast on a glass substrate and slowly dried by moderate heating to obtain the composite films. Polyaniline (PANI)-MWNT composites were obtained by carrying out the chemical synthesis of nanofibrilar PANI in the presence of CNTs. This water dispersible PANIMWNT composite contains well segregated MWNTs partially coated by nanofibrilar PANI. The ac and dc charge transport measurements suggest hopping transport in these materials. OFETs are fabricated with pentacene, poly(2,5-bis(3-tetradecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophene)(PBTTT) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as active materials. A novel technique is used to characterize the acphotoresponse of these OFETs. Chapter 3: Charge transport studies on PEDOT-PSS have been carried out and found that it correlates with the morphology. The dc conductivity of PEDOT–PSS shows enhanced delocalization of the carriers upon the addition of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and this is attributed to the extended chain conformation. PEDOT-PSS is known to form a phase-segregated material comprising highly conducting PEDOT grains that are surrounded by a sea of weakly ionic-conducting PSS and a wide variation in the charge transport properties of PEDOT-PSS films is attributed to the degree of phasesegregation of the excess insulating polyanion. The magnetotransport and temperature dependent ac transport parameters across different conducting grades of PEDOT-PSS processed with DMSO were compared. Depending on the subtle alterations in morphology, the transport at low temperatures is shown to vary from the hopping regime (Baytron P) to critical regime of the metal-insulator transition (Baytron PH510) There is a significant positive magnetoresistance (MR) for P–films, but this is considerably less in case of PH510-film. From the low temperature ac conductance it is found that the onset frequency for PH510 is nearly temperature independent, whereas in P type it is strongly temperature dependent, again showing the superior transport in PH510. The presence of ‘shorter network connections’ together with a very weak temperature dependence down to ~ 5 K, suggest that the limitation on transport in PH510 arises from the connectivity within the PEDOT-rich grain rather than transport via the PSS barriers. Chapter 4: DC and AC charge transport properties of Nafion s-MWNT and PANI-MWNT composites are studied. Such a detailed investigation is required to optimize the correlation among morphology and transport properties in these composites towards applications in field-effect transistors, antistatic coating, electromagnetic shielding, etc. The conductivity in Nafion s-MWNT shows a percolative transport with percolation threshold pc = 0.42 whereas such a sharp percolation is absent in PANI-MWNT composite since the conduction via PANI matrix smears out the onset of rapid increase in conductivity. Three-dimensional variable range hopping (VRH) transport is observed in Nafion s-MWNT composites. The positive and negative MR data on 10 wt. % sample are analyzed by taking into account forward interference mechanism (negative MR) and wave-function shrinkage (positive MR), and the carrier scattering is observed to be in the weak limit. The electric-field dependence, measured to high fields, follows the predictions of hopping transport in high electric-field regime. The ac conductivity in 1 wt. % sample follows a power law: ( )  A s , and s decreases with increasing temperature as expected in the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model. In general, Mott’s VRH transport is observed in PANI-MWNT samples. It is found that the MWNTs are sparingly adhered with PANI coatings, and this facilitates inter-tube hopping at low temperatures. The negative MR of MWNT-PANI composites suggest that the electronic transport at low temperatures is dominated by MWNT network. AC impedance measurements at low temperatures with different MWNT loading show that ac conductivity become temperature independent as the MWNT content increases. The onset frequency for the increase in conductivity is observed to be strongly dependent on the MWNT weight percentage, and the ac conductivity can be scaled onto a master curve given by  ( )  0[1 k( 0 )s ]. Chapter 5: Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on small molecules and polymers have attracted considerable attention due to their unique advantages, such as low cost of fabrication, ease of processing and mechanical flexibility. Impedance characterization of these devices can identify the circuit elements present in addition to the source-drain (SD) channel, and the bottlenecks in charge transport can be identified. The charge carrier trapping at various interfaces and in the semiconductor can be estimated from the dc and ac impedance measurements under illumination. The equivalent circuit parameters for a pentacene OFET are determined from low frequency impedance measurements in the dark as well as under light illumination. The charge accumulation at organic semiconductor–metal interface and dielectric semiconductor interface is monitored from the response to light as an additional parameter to find out the contributions arising from photovoltaic and photoconductive effects. The shift in threshold voltage is due to the accumulation of photogenerated carriers under SD electrodes and at dielectric–semiconductor interface, and also this dominates the carrier transport. Similar charge trapping is observed in an OFET with PBTTT as the active material. This novel method can be used to differentiate the photophysical phenomena occurring in the bulk from that at the metal-semiconductor interface for the polymer. Chapter 6: The conclusions from the various works presented in the thesis are coherently summarized in this chapter. Thoughts for future directions are also summed up.