VARIOUS FACTORS AFFECTING THE SYNTHESIS OF HIGHLY CONDUCTING POLYACETYLENE

The preparative conditions of highly conducting polyacetylene films by acetylene polymerization with a Ti(n-OBu)4-Et3Al catalyst have been i nvestigated in terms of preparative method of the catalyst, polymeriza tion method, purification method of prepared films and drying method o f the films. Highly stretchable films were prepared by the use of a ca talyst aged at a temperature higher than 80-degrees-C and the stretcha bility increased with increasing concentration of the catalyst, result ing in higher values of parallel conductivity in the stretch-oriented iodine-doped samples. However, these values were limited to (3-4) X 10 (4) S cm-1 due to a decrease in conductivity of the as-prepared films with either increasing aging temperature or concentration of catalyst.