Method for producing conductive polymers

Abstract

Disclosed herein are polymeric materials, in particular materials comprising one or more polymers, in which the degree of conductivity can be controlled. Disclosed herein are materials, such as one or more polymers (or monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more easily processable, thermally convertible polymers, comprising one or more electron-rich domains, the electron-rich domains may be exposed to at least one of sufficient temperatures (e.g., for temperature dependent processing), mechanical forces / pressures, magnetic fields, and / or electric fields, and thus increase the conductivity of the material. Also disclosed herein are methods of forming the materials, as well as uses and uses thereof.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2022902141 filed on July 29, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to polymeric materials, specifically materials comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), wherein the conductivity can be controlled before, during or after polymerization. Disclosed herein are materials, such as one or more polymers, optionally one or more easily processable, thermally convertible polymers, comprising one or more electron-rich domains that can be exposed to at least one of: sufficient temperature (e.g., for temperature-dependent processing), mechanical force / pressure, magnetic field and / or electric field, and thereby increase the conductivity of the material. The material can be used as a conductive adhesive, a conductive layer in a storage device or an electronic device, such as a transparent conductive adhesive. The increase in conductivity can be reversible, or partially reversible. Background Art

[0004] Conductive materials can be used in a variety of different applications in different situations. However, the production of such materials can be costly, laborious and time-consuming. In addition, these materials can only provide a limited number of desired physical properties.

[0005] There is a need to provide methods for producing conductive materials having a wide variety of physical, chemical and electronic properties. The ability to enhance the electronic conductivity of a material or to convert a material having poor or minimal electronic conductivity into an electronically conductive material would increase the options available in selecting (and customizing) a material (optionally a flooring material) for one or more specific applications.

[0006] There are two major classes of conducting polymers. In some cases, non-intrinsic conducting polymers can be used. However, these types of materials generally require the introduction of additional substances; for example: conductive particles (including metal spheres such as indium tin oxide), silver nanowires, graphene sheets, to obtain a conductive material. In applications where light transmittance is required, the inclusion of these types of substances may block light and cause optical losses. In other cases, intrinsic conducting polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) can be used, which allow electrical transmission without the admixture of conducting materials. However, relatively high cost, weak mechanical strength, and parasitic absorption loss limitations (the latter being a potential problem in applications covering solar cell units) may cause a series of problems.

[0007] Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles of manufacture or the like included in this specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure by virtue of their existence before the priority date of each claim of this application. Summary of the invention

[0008] Herein, a technique has been developed to control the conductivity of materials such as polymers. After appropriate treatment, the conductivity of one or more polymers may be increased. After some other treatment, the increase in conductivity may be reversible, or partially reversible, while ideally maintaining all or substantially all other mechanical and / or optical properties.

[0009] The developed technology can be used with one or more polymers containing specific groups and / or substituents, such as electron-rich domains. In advantageous embodiments, a simple process is used to control the conductivity of one or more low-cost materials. In one embodiment, the electronic conductivity of a conductive polymer can be improved. In one embodiment, an insulating material can be adjusted so that it can conduct an electric charge. For applications such as the formation of transparent conductive adhesives, the methods disclosed herein can be used to produce materials with appropriate and / or improved electrical, physical / mechanical and / or chemical properties.

[0010] In one aspect, disclosed herein is a polymeric material comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers, oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers or one or more conductive polymers, the one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when the following occurs: - applying a sufficiently strong electric field across the one or more polymers, and / or - applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently high temperature across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently strong pressure across said one or more polymers, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material (or optionally the monomers, oligomers) is increased.

[0011] In one embodiment of the first aspect, a sufficiently strong electric field is applied across the one or more polymers. In one embodiment of the first aspect, a sufficiently strong magnetic field is applied across the one or more polymers. In one embodiment of the second aspect, a sufficiently strong magnetic field is applied across the one or more polymers. In one embodiment of the second aspect, a sufficiently high temperature is applied across the one or more polymers.

[0012] In another embodiment of the first aspect, disclosed herein is a polymeric material comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers or one or more conductive polymers, wherein the one or more polymers comprise one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when two or more of the following occur: - applying a sufficiently strong electric field across the one or more polymers, and / or - applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently high temperature across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently strong pressure across said one or more polymers, The conductivity of the polymer material (or optionally monomer, oligomer) increases. In the case of using multiple conditions / stimuli, there may be an order / sequence. For example, the temperature is optionally changed first, wherein the purpose may be to make the polymer material (or optionally monomer and / or oligomer) processable. In the case where the polymer (or optionally monomer and / or oligomer) is already in a processable (e.g., gel, melting or liquid) state, they can be directly made into a film without the need for additional high temperature. In certain embodiments, for example, for long-chain polymers, a specific temperature and / or range may be required. After the temperature is adjusted, the second may be a change in pressure. Applying a specific pressure and / or a pressure range can be used to reduce the thickness of the polymer along at least one dimension and / or introduce certain microstructures. Along with the change of temperature and / or pressure, an electric field and / or a magnetic field can be applied for final conductivity.

[0013] In some embodiments, potential advantages disclosed herein may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: ● Convert insulating materials into conductive materials without doping the polymer with localized charge carriers ● Improve the conductivity of conductive materials (e.g., one or more intrinsic and / or extrinsic conductive polymers) ●Reversible increase in the electrical conductivity of the polymer ●Translatability across a broad range of polymer classes and / or • Customizable resistance based on film thickness, electric field strength used, and choice of polymer used.

[0014] It should be understood that embodiments of each aspect of the present disclosure are equally applicable to each other aspect mutatis mutandis. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] While it will be appreciated that various embodiments disclosed herein may be used, several examples are described herein with reference to the following figures:

[0016] Figure 1 .Schematic diagram of the setup for electrical processing and electrical characterization of Si / polymer / Si samples.

[0017] Figure 2 .Schematic diagram of III-V cells bonded on: (a) Si wafer, (b) indium tin oxide (ITO) glass, (c) Si cell bonded through a polymer layer, and (d) schematic diagram of the top cell bonded to the bottom cell through a polymer layer.

[0018] Figure 3 . Dependence of epoxy thickness on rotation speed. Error bars indicate standard deviation.

[0019] Figure 4 (a) IV sweep curves of Si wafers bonded by epoxy layers with different thicknesses. (b) Dependence of the voltage V on the polymer layer thickness d.

[0020] Figure 5 (a) IV curve of polymer-bonded Si wafer after cyclic electrical treatment. (b) Resistance of EVA-bonded Si wafer after electrical treatment with different electric field strengths.

[0021] Figure 6 AFM height (ac) and phase (df) mapping images (1 μm scan) of a 5 μm thick EVA (an example polymer) film. The untreated EVA film shows randomly arranged polymer chains, while the polymer chains begin to aggregate after 1 V / μm electric field treatment and form partially ordered arrays after 2 V / μm treatment.

[0022] Figure 7 (a) Schematic diagram of ITO glass bonded by a polymer layer. (b) Transmittance of ITO glass bonded by a polymer layer measured before and after standard cyclic electrical treatment.

[0023] Figure 8 (a) Equivalent circuit diagram of a III-V battery cell bonded on a Si wafer via a polymer layer. (b) IV curves measured between T2 and T3 before and after electrical treatment.

[0024] Fig. 9 JV curves of a III-V solar cell bonded to a Si wafer via a polymer layer, measured via different terminals before and after standard cyclic electrical treatment.

[0025] Fig.10 Fill factor (FF) and open circuit voltage (VOC) of III-V cells bonded to Si wafers via a polymer layer over 120 days.

[0026] Fig.11 (a) Equivalent circuit diagram of a III-V battery cell bonded to ITO glass via a polymer layer. (b) IV curve measured between T2 and T3 before and after standard cycle electrical treatment. (c) JV curve of a III-V battery cell bonded to ITO glass via a polymer layer, measured through different terminals before and after electrical treatment.

[0027] Fig.12 . Measured transmittance of a III-V cell bonded to ITO glass via a polymer layer before and after cyclic electrical treatment.

[0028] Fig.13 (a) Schematic diagram of a GaInP / GaAs / / Si tandem solar cell cell bonded by a polymer layer. Multiple optical enhancement layers (MOEL) include TiO2 layers at the front and back sides of the III-V cell, and a textured PDMS film on the front side of the tandem cell after the TiO2. (b) SEM image of a cross section of the bonding interface. (c) IV curves measured between T2 and T3 before and after standard cyclic electrical treatment.

[0029] Fig.14 .JV curves of GaInP / GaAs / / Si tandem solar cell, III-V top cell and Si bottom cell after electrical treatment of the polymer layer.

[0030] Fig.15 . Diagram outlining an exemplary process for applying heat and / or pressure to a polymer-based sample. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] General Definitions and Terminology

[0032] With respect to the definitions provided herein, unless otherwise stated or implied from the context, the defined terms and phrases include the meanings provided. Additionally, unless otherwise expressly stated or obvious from the context, the following terms and phrases do not exclude the meanings that a person skilled in the relevant art would have for a term or phrase. These definitions are provided to aid in the description of specific embodiments, and these definitions are not intended to limit the claimed invention, as the scope of the present invention is limited only by the claims.

[0033] Unless otherwise noted, all publications discussed and / or cited herein are incorporated herein in their entirety.

[0034] Unless the context requires otherwise, singular terms shall include the plural and plural terms shall include the singular. Throughout this disclosure, unless otherwise expressly stated or the context requires otherwise, references to individual steps, material compositions, step groups, or material composition groups shall be deemed to cover one and multiple (i.e., one or more) of these steps, material compositions, step groups, or material composition groups. Therefore, as used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural aspects. For example, reference to "a" includes single and two or more; reference to "a" includes single and two or more; reference to "the" includes single and two or more, etc.

[0035] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, in addition to the disclosure specifically described, the disclosure herein may be changed and modified. It should be understood that the disclosure includes all such changes and modifications. The disclosure also includes all examples, steps, features, methods, compositions, formulations and processes individually or collectively mentioned or indicated in this specification, as well as any and all combinations of any two or more of the steps or features.

[0036] The term "and / or", for example, "X and / or Y" should be understood to mean "X and Y" or "X or Y", and should be considered to provide clear support for both meanings or either meaning.

[0037] Unless otherwise indicated, the terms "first," "second," and the like are used herein merely as labels and are not intended to impose ordinal, positional, or hierarchical requirements on the items to which these terms refer. Further, reference to a "second" item does not require or preclude the existence of lower-numbered items (e.g., a "first" item) and / or higher-numbered items (e.g., a "third" item).

[0038] As used herein, the phrases "at least one," "one or more," when used with a list of items, mean that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used and that only one of the items in the list may be required. The items may be specific objects, things, or categories. In other words, "at least one" or "one or more" means that any combination of items or the number of items in the list may be used, but not all items in the list are required. For example, "at least one of item A, item B, and item C" may mean item A; item A and item B; item B; item A, item B, and item C; or item B and item C. In some cases, "at least one of item A, item B, and item C" may mean, for example, but not limited to, two of item A, one of item B, and ten of item C; four of item B and seven of item C; or some other suitable combination.

[0039] It should be understood that, for the sake of clarity, certain features described herein in the context of separate embodiments may also be provided in a single embodiment in combination. Conversely, for the sake of brevity, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any sub-combination.

[0040] Throughout this specification, various aspects and compositions of the present disclosure may be presented in a range format. The range format is included for convenience and should not be interpreted as a fixed limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the description of the range should be deemed to have explicitly disclosed all possible sub-ranges and individual numerical values ​​within the range. For example, the description of a range such as from 1 to 5 should be deemed to have specifically disclosed sub-ranges such as from 1 to 3, 1 to 4, 1 to 5, 2 to 4, 2 to 5, 3 to 5, etc., and single and partial numbers within the range, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 4.5 and 5, unless an integer or an implicit integer is required in the context. No matter how wide the disclosed range is, this applies. When specific values ​​are required, these values ​​will be indicated in the specification.

[0041] Throughout this specification, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements, integers or steps or groups of elements, integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other elements, integers or steps or groups of elements, integers or steps.

[0042] Throughout this specification, the term "consisting essentially of is intended to exclude elements that would significantly affect the properties of the claimed composition, method, or process.

[0043] The terms “comprising”, “comprise” and “comprises” are intended to be optionally replaced by the terms “consisting essentially of”, “consisting essentially of” and “consisting of”, “consisting of”, “consists of”, in each instance, respectively.

[0044] As used herein, the term "about" encompasses a 10% tolerance for any value or values ​​associated with the term.

[0045] “Weight %” herein may be abbreviated as “wt %” or “wt. %”. Weight % may be w / w or w / v, unless otherwise indicated or clear from the context.

[0046] The term "optionally substituted", "comprising one or more substituents" or "substituted" means that the corresponding group, atom, group or part on the compound may have one or more substituents. Where multiple substituents or various substituent selections are specified, the substituents are selected independently of each other and need not be the same. In some cases, at least one hydrogen atom on the free radical, group or part is replaced by a substituent. In the case of an oxo substituent (=O), two hydrogen atoms may be replaced. In this regard, the substituents may include one or more of: alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, carbocyclyl, halogen, nitro, cyano, hydroxyl, sulfonic acid, thiol, ether, amino, alkylamino, dialkylamino, haloalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, alkoxy, haloalkoxy, aryloxy, heteroaryloxy, aralkyloxy, alkylthio, carboxamido, sulfonamido, alkylcarbonyl, arylcarbonyl, alkylsulfonyl, arylsulfonyl, carboxyl, carboxyalkyl, alkyl, cycloalkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, heterocyclyl, alkoxyalkyl, (amino)alkyl, hydroxyalkylamino, (alkylamino)alkyl, (dialkylamino)alkyl, (cyano)alkyl, (carboxamido)alkyl, mercaptoalkyl, (heterocyclyl)alkyl, (cycloalkylamino)alkyl, (C1-C4 haloalkoxy)alkyl, (heteroaryl)alkyl or perylene, oxo, heterocycle, -OR x 、-NR x R Y 、-NR x C(=O)R y -NR x S02R y 、-C(=O)R x 、-C(=O)OR x 、-C(=O)NR x R y 、-SO q R x 、-SO q NR x R y and mixtures thereof, wherein q is 0, 1 or 2, R x and R y are the same or different and are independently selected from hydrogen, alkyl or heterocycle, and each of the alkyl and heterocycle substituents may be further substituted with one or more of oxo, halogen, -OH, -CN, alkyl, -OR x , heterocyclic ring, -NR x R y 、-NR x C(=O)R y -NR x S02R y 、-C(=O)R x 、-C(=O)OR x 、-C(=O)NRx R y 、-SOR x and-SONR x R y .

[0047] As used herein, a material, such as one or more polymers, may be considered to function as a part of an adhesive. A material may exhibit enhanced adhesion or tack such that the material enhances the aggregation of an article or portion thereof, such as functioning as an adhesive for multiple other materials.

[0048] As used herein, "insulation" or "insulator", such as "insulating polymer", refers to materials and properties of materials, respectively, that have high resistivity values. The resistivity of an insulator may be 10 8 Ωm or higher range.

[0049] The "electron-rich domain" herein can refer to any functional group consisting of free electron pairs or inorganic atoms with flexible electrons, such as Li, Cu, Fe, Si, S, O, F, Br, and mixtures thereof. More specifically, the "electron-rich domain" can be defined as any chemical part containing an electronic dipole with a dipole moment greater than 0.

[0050] The term "conductive adhesive" herein refers to a material that can adhere to at least one surface of an item or a portion thereof for a period of time. In one embodiment, the "conductive adhesive" can connect at least a portion of two or more items and provide a physical connection and an electrical connection. In some embodiments, the "conductive adhesive" can be a "transparent conductive adhesive".

[0051] As used herein, "transparent conductive adhesive" refers to a material that is capable of adhering to at least one surface of an article or a portion thereof for a period of time. In one embodiment, a "transparent conductive adhesive" is capable of connecting at least a portion of two or more articles and providing a physical connection and an electrical connection. As used herein, a transparent conductive adhesive allows light / electromagnetic radiation to pass through, such as infrared, ultraviolet, and / or visible light. In one embodiment, transparency is measured based on the difference in percentage of light transmittance before and after applying a film layer on the ITO glass. In one embodiment, the percentage difference in light transmittance of the ITO glass for light in a wavelength range of about 300 nm to about 1300 nm before and after applying the film layer is less than about 5%, for example, less than about: 5%, 4.5%, 4%, 3.5%, or 3%.

[0052] Disclosed herein is a polymeric material comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers or one or more conductive polymers, the one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when at least one of the following occurs: - applying a sufficiently strong electric field across the one or more polymers, and / or - applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently high temperature across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently strong pressure across said one or more polymers, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material is increased.

[0053] Also disclosed herein is a polymeric material comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers or one or more conductive polymers, the one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when the following occurs: - the polymer material is disposed between a plurality of layers, each layer being independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting electric charge, and mixtures thereof; and - At least one of the following is true: ■ applying a sufficiently strong electric field across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying a sufficiently high temperature across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying sufficiently strong pressure across the polymer or polymers, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material is increased.

[0054] Herein, the electrical conductivity of the polymer material may be increased due to at least one, two, three or four of the following: application of a sufficiently strong electric field across the polymer(s); and / or application of a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the polymer(s); and / or application of a sufficiently high temperature across the polymer(s); and / or application of a sufficiently strong pressure across the polymer(s).

[0055] Also disclosed herein is a conductive polymer material formed from the polymer materials described herein, wherein the one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers, are exposed to a sufficiently strong electric field. Also disclosed herein is a conductive polymer material formed from the polymer materials described herein, wherein the one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers, are exposed to a sufficiently strong magnetic field. Also disclosed herein is a conductive polymer material formed from the polymer materials described herein, wherein the one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers, are exposed to a sufficiently high temperature. Also disclosed herein is a conductive polymer material formed from the polymer materials described herein, wherein the one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers, are exposed to a sufficiently high pressure.

[0056] In one embodiment, the conductive polymer material is a conductive adhesive. In another embodiment, the conductive polymer material is a transparent conductive polymer, such as a transparent conductive adhesive.

[0057] Also disclosed herein is a method of producing a conductive polymer material, the method comprising applying across one or more polymers (optionally one or more insulating polymers) at least one of: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The one or more polymers comprise one or more electron rich domains, wherein the conductivity of the one or more polymers (optionally one or more insulating polymers) is increased.

[0058] Also disclosed herein is a method of increasing the electrical conductivity of a polymeric material comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), the method comprising applying across the one or more polymers at least one of: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The one or more polymers comprise one or more electron rich domains, wherein the conductivity of the conductive polymer material is increased.

[0059] Also disclosed herein is a method of producing a conductive polymer material, the method comprising: - placing one or more polymers (optionally one or more insulating polymers) between a plurality of layers, the one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, each layer independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting charge, and mixtures thereof; and - applying across said one or more polymers at least one of: ■Sufficiently high electric fields; and / or ■Sufficiently high magnetic field; and / or ■Sufficiently high temperature; and / or ■Sufficiently strong pressure, The electrical conductivity of the one or more polymers (or optionally monomers, oligomers) is increased.

[0060] Also disclosed herein is the use of one or more polymers (optionally one or more insulating polymers) in a polymeric material for producing a conductive polymer, the one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when at least one of the following is applied across the one or more polymers: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material is increased.

[0061] Also disclosed herein is the use of one or more polymers (or optionally monomers, oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers, for physically and electronically connecting multiple layers, each layer independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting charge, and mixtures thereof; wherein when the following occurs: - said one or more polymers are disposed between said plurality of layers, and - when at least one of the following is applied across said one or more polymers: ■Sufficiently strong electric fields; and / or ■ a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or ■Sufficiently high temperature; and / or ■Sufficiently strong pressure, The conductivity of the one or more polymers (or optionally monomers, oligomers) is increased.

[0062] Also disclosed herein is a conductive polymer material obtained by the method as described herein.

[0063] Also disclosed herein is a device comprising the conductive polymer material as described herein.

[0064] Conductive Materials

[0065] The present disclosure relates to polymer materials, conductive polymer materials, methods of forming, uses and applications thereof.

[0066] In one embodiment, the conductive polymer material is a conductive adhesive. In another embodiment, the conductive polymer material is a transparent conductive adhesive.

[0067] Herein, in one or more embodiments, "polymer" or "one or more polymers" may be at least partially or completely replaced by a precursor and / or building block used to form the polymer or one or more polymers, for example, by one or more monomers and / or oligomers. These monomers and / or oligomers may be commercial monomers or oligomers. The conductivity of the polymer or one or more monomers and / or oligomers may be changed before, during and / or after the polymerization process. For example, at least one of at least one of the following: a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or a sufficiently high temperature; and / or a sufficiently strong pressure may be applied to at least one of the polymer, monomer and / or oligomer.

[0068] In one embodiment, the electric field is applied to one or more polymers, such as one or more insulating polymers. In another embodiment, the electric field is applied to one or more conductive polymers. The electric field can have an intensity of at least 5V / m. In this article, the electric field can be generated by introducing a potential difference across an axis of one or more polymers. When one or more polymers are exposed to the electric field, the conductivity generated may be the result of multiple factors, including but not limited to one or more of the following: the type of polymer, one or more dimensions of the polymer (for example, the thickness and / or size of the electric field or the potential applied across the axis or plane of one or more polymers). The intensity of the required electric field depends, among other properties, on the composition of the one or more polymers and the thickness of the one or more polymer films.

[0069] In one embodiment, a voltage in the range of about 0.05 V to about 100 V may be applied across one or more polymers. In one embodiment, the voltage applied may be about or at least about: 0.05 V, 0.1 V, 0.5 V, 1 V, 2 V, 5 V, 10 V, 20 V, 50 V, or 100 V.

[0070] In this context, one or more polymers may be exposed to a single electric field or multiple electric fields. In the case of using multiple electric fields, the strength of each electric field may be the same or different from the previous or subsequent electric field.

[0071] In one embodiment, the magnetic field is applied to one or more polymers, such as one or more insulating polymers. In another embodiment, the magnetic field is applied to one or more conductive polymers. The magnetic field can have an intensity of at least 2T. In this article, the magnetic field can be generated by methods known in the art, including but not limited to magnets and / or Hall effect generators across at least one axis of one or more polymers. When one or more polymers are exposed to an appropriate magnetic field, the resulting conductivity may be the result of multiple factors, including but not limited to one or more of the following: the type of polymer, one or more dimensions of the polymer (such as thickness, and / or the size of the magnetic field across the axis or plane of one or more polymers). The intensity of the required magnetic field depends, among other properties, on the composition of one or more polymers and the thickness of one or more polymer films.

[0072] In this context, one or more polymers may be exposed to a single magnetic field or multiple magnetic fields. In the case of using multiple magnetic fields, the strength of each magnetic field may be the same or different from the previous or subsequent magnetic field.

[0073] In one embodiment, pressure is applied to one or more polymers, such as one or more insulating polymers. In another embodiment, pressure is applied to one or more conductive polymers. The pressure may be at least 20 Pa (N / m 2 ). In this context, pressure may be generated by any method known in the art, such as uniformly applying weight, using clamps, using a laminator, and / or an apparatus that can generate pressure. When one or more polymers are exposed to at least one appropriate pressure, the resulting conductivity may be the result of a variety of factors, including but not limited to one or more of the following: the type of polymer, one or more dimensions of the polymer (e.g., thickness, and / or the amount of pressure applied to the one or more polymers). The required pressure depends, among other properties, on the composition of the one or more polymers and the thickness of the one or more polymer films.

[0074] In this context, one or more polymers may be exposed to a single pressure or multiple pressures. In the case of using multiple pressures, the magnitude of the pressure may be the same or different from the previous or subsequent pressures.

[0075] In one embodiment, a specific temperature or temperature range is applied to one or more polymers, such as one or more insulating polymers. The temperature may be related to the glass transition temperature of the one or more polymers used. In another embodiment, a specific temperature or temperature range is applied to one or more conductive polymers. The temperature can be as low as room temperature (e.g., about 20°C, 21°C, 22°C, 23°C, 24°C, or 25°C), or even lower, such as a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature of the polymer used. The temperature can be about, at least about, or less than about: 20°C, 30°C, 40°C, 50°C, 60°C, 70°C, 80°C, 90°C, 100°C, 110°C, 120°C, 130°C, 140°C, 150°C, 160°C, 170°C, 180°C, 190°C, or 200°C. Suitable temperatures herein can be generated by any method known in the art, such as using a hot plate. When the one or more polymers are exposed to at least one suitable temperature, the resulting conductivity may be the result of a variety of factors, including but not limited to one or more of the following: the type of polymer, one or more dimensions of the polymer (e.g., thickness, and / or a specific temperature or temperature range applied to the one or more polymers. The required pressure depends on, among other properties, the composition of the one or more polymers and the thickness of the one or more polymer films.

[0076] In this context, one or more polymers may be exposed to a single temperature or multiple temperatures. Where multiple temperatures are used, the magnitude of the temperature may be the same or different from the preceding or succeeding temperature.

[0077] In this article, the polymers, monomers and / or oligomers can be exposed to at least one of the following: a sufficiently strong electric field is applied across the one or more polymers; and / or a sufficiently strong magnetic field is applied across the one or more polymers; and / or a sufficiently high temperature is applied across the one or more polymers; and / or a sufficiently strong pressure is applied across the one or more polymers, for a sufficient time, which depends on the action and / or the polymer (or monomer and / or oligomer), and can be on the order of minutes or seconds.

[0078] In this article, the increase in conductivity can be measured by any suitable method known in the art. As known in the art, conductivity (σ) is the reciprocal of resistivity (ρ), i.e. σ=1 / ρ. Resistivity can be calculated using the equation ρ=RA / L, where R is the resistance of the sample, A is the cross-sectional area A, and L is the length / thickness. L can be measured by methods known in the art, such as using cross-sectional microscope images (e.g., scanning electron microscopes) and / or profilometers. Resistance R can be measured by IV testing. In one embodiment, a four-point probe resistance measurement can be used as a method for measuring resistance and quantifying the resistance. For example: U. Heitmann et al., Electrical and optical analysis of a spray coated transparent conductive adhesive for two-terminal silicon based tandem solar cells[C], AIP Conference Proceedings, AIP Publishing, 2019, 2147(1); and / or M. Taklo et al., Anisotropic Conductive Adhesive for Wafer-to-Wafer Bonding, Proceedings of 7th International Device Packaging Conference and Exhibition. th International Conference and Exhibition on DevicePackaging), 2011.

[0079] In one embodiment, the increase in conductivity (in seconds / meter) may be at least or approximately: 1, 1.00E+01, 1.00E+02, 1.00E+03, 1.00E+04, 1.00E+05, 1.00E+06, 1.00E+07, 1.00E+08, 1.00E+09, 1.00E+10, 1.00E+11 , 1.00E+12, 1.00E+13, 1.00E+14, 1.00E+15, 1.00E+16, 1.00E+17, 1.00E+18, 1.00E+19, 1.00E+20, 1.00E+21, 1.00E+22, 1.00E+23, 1.00E+24, and 1.00E+25 orders of magnitude. In another embodiment, the reduction / reduction in resistivity (in Ω·m) herein may be at least or about: 1, 1.00E+01, 1.00E+02, 1.00E+03, 1.00E+04, 1.00E+05, 1.00E+06, 1.00E+07, 1.00E+08, 1.00E+09, 1.00E+10, 1.00 E+11, 1.00E+12, 1.00E+13, 1.00E+14, 1.00E+15, 1.00E+16, 1.00E+17, 1.00E+18, 1.00E+19, 1.00E+20, 1.00E+21, 1.00E+22, 1.00E+23, 1.00E+24, and 1.00E+25 orders of magnitude.

[0080] In one embodiment, the electric field is applied when the one or more polymers are below the glass transition temperature of the one or more polymers. In one embodiment, the electric field is applied when the one or more polymers are above the glass transition temperature of the one or more polymers.

[0081] In one embodiment, exposure to at least one of an electric field, a magnetic field, an appropriate temperature or temperature range, and / or a pressure or pressure range, for a period of time (or a period of time), such as one or more of a "sufficiently strong electric field", a "sufficiently strong magnetic field", a "sufficiently high temperature", and / or a "sufficiently strong pressure", changes the internal organization of one or more polymers. For example, one or more polymer chains may aggregate and / or be closely arranged parallel and / or perpendicular to the direction of the electric field, magnetic field, and / or applied pressure, or due to exposure to one or more temperature ranges. The internal arrangement of polymers and / or portions thereof (e.g., side chains) is determined by a variety of factors, including the specific one or more polymers used (including specific substituents or groups present on the polymer backbone and / or side chains), the intensity of the external stimulus (e.g., an electric field, magnetic field, pressure, and / or temperature), and / or the time that the one or more polymers are exposed to the stimulus. After exposure to at least one of an electric field, a magnetic field, a temperature, and / or a pressure, the internal arrangement of the one or more polymers may become more ordered. After exposure to at least one of an electric field, a magnetic field, a temperature, and / or a pressure, the one or more polymers may exhibit changes in physical properties, such as an increase in hardness, which may be indicated in methods such as atomic force microscopy. The one or more materials may exhibit increased crystalline properties through at least a portion of the one or more materials.The one or more materials may transform from an amorphous or substantially amorphous form to a more crystalline or substantially crystalline form.

[0082] In this article, in order to obtain a conductive polymer material, for example, in order to achieve topological conductivity across the thickness of the polymer film containing electron-rich domains, an electric field can be applied to the film, and the electric field can be an alternating current (AC) or a direct current (DC). In this article, in order to obtain a conductive polymer material, for example, in order to achieve topological conductivity across the thickness of the polymer film containing electron-rich domains, a magnetic field can be applied to the film. In this article, in order to obtain a conductive polymer material, for example, in order to achieve topological conductivity across the thickness of the polymer film containing electron-rich domains, an appropriate pressure (e.g., mechanical pressure) can be applied to the film. In this article, in order to obtain a conductive polymer material, for example, in order to achieve topological conductivity across the thickness of the polymer film containing electron-rich domains, an appropriate temperature or temperature range can be applied to the film. The electron-rich domains can then move parallel to the applied electric field, magnetic field, and pressure application direction. Such movement or movement tendency may lead to an enhanced degree of suspension / stretching of the covalent bonds involved, as well as the accumulation of polymer chains containing electron-rich domains. As Figure 1As shown, using the polymer EVA as an example model, these figures show the realignment of the vinyl acetate (VA) part in the ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) film (5 μm) when placed in an electric field. The untreated EVA film contains randomly arranged polymer chains. After placing them in a 1V / μm electric field for 5 seconds, the VA chains accumulate. Moreover, after treatment under a 2V / μm electric field, the VA chains are arranged in an ordered array. Under a suitable electric field, such accumulation / arrangement of the VA part (containing C=O electron-rich domains) occurs throughout the depth of the film and allows the formation of many pathways for electron transport. Therefore, the EVA film becomes conductive across its thickness.

[0083] In another embodiment, when the film is made, in the absence of any electric field greater than 0.1 V / μm, PMMA / PVA polymers can achieve a resistance of less than 2 Ohm.

[0084] In one embodiment, after applying an electric field, magnetic field, pressure and / or temperature to the one or more polymers, the conductivity of the one or more polymers is increased. In one embodiment, the increase in conductivity is temporary. After the conductivity increases, the conductivity may decrease over a period of time, or the conductivity may remain the same or substantially the same in the absence of any additional changes (e.g., applying a stimulus that changes the electrical, chemical and / or physical properties of the one or more polymers or an article to which the one or more polymers are placed and / or attached in some way). In one embodiment, the increase in conductivity is relatively stable over time, and the increase in conductivity is observed to persist, such as over a period of minutes, hours, days, weeks and / or months. In one embodiment, the increase in conductivity is temporary, and the conductivity decreases, such as over a period of minutes, hours, days, weeks and / or months.

[0085] In this article, any increase in conductivity may be reversible. Any increase in conductivity may be partially reversible. For example, the one or more polymers may be changed so that the conductivity may be reduced after exposure to an electric field, a magnetic field, a pressure and / or a temperature (which may be due to environmental changes, such as temperature). The reduction in conductivity may restore the conductivity of the material to an original state or an alternative state. For example, the one or more polymers may be heated, such as by thermal annealing and / or by cooling, such as supercooling. In one embodiment, the conductivity of the one or more polymers may be reduced due to changes in the electrical, chemical and / or physical properties of the one or more polymers.

[0086] In this context, the conductive polymer material may be in the form of a "topological" conductive film. A topological conductive film may conduct electricity in a single direction, for example a vertical direction.

[0087] Insulators can have 10 High resistivity values ​​in the Ωm or higher range.

[0088] polymer

[0089] In this context, for the materials, methods and uses described herein, the choice of polymer may provide one or more of the following advantages: ●No chemical curing reaction required ●High viscosity or low viscosity ●Conditionally resistant to solvents ●Short processing time ● Unlimited shelf or storage life ●Material is weldable ●High energy absorption in case of damage ●Good recycling properties ●Chemical curing reaction ●Low viscosity ●Good fiber impregnation ●High solvent resistance Medium to long processing time ● Limited shelf or storage life and / or ●Low fixing force.

[0090] Herein, the one or more polymers may be selected from, but not limited to, thermoplastics, thermosetting plastics, and mixtures thereof.

[0091] In this context, one or more polymers (or optionally monomers, oligomers) may contain one or more electron-rich domains. The electron-rich domains may be present in the polymer backbone, one or more side chains, or a mixture thereof.

[0092] The electron-rich domains can be covalently bonded groups containing multiple electron pairs or inorganic atoms with flexible electrons.

[0093] In this context, the one or more electron-rich domains may be selected from, but are not limited to, one or more optionally substituted: double bonds, cyclic groups, heterocycles (e.g., pyrrole rings), aryl rings, heteroaryl rings (e.g., pyridine rings), fluorine or fluorine-containing groups, cyano groups, carbonyl groups, imines, aldehydes, hydroxyl groups, esters, carboxylic acids, glycidyl groups, amines, imines, or atoms with free electrons, such as Li, Cu, Fe, Si, S, F, Br, and mixtures thereof.

[0094] The one or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials can take any form known in the art. Examples include, but are not limited to, linear, branched, hyperbranched, dendritic or comb-like materials, or mixtures thereof. The polymer can be based on a single monomer (e.g., a homopolymer) or a plurality of different monomers (e.g., a copolymer, such as a statistical, alternating, gradient or block copolymer). The one or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials can be composed of any monomer known in the art, such as styrenics, polyolefins, poly(meth)acrylates, poly(meth)acrylamides, polyethers, silicones, polyesters, polyurethanes and mixtures thereof.

[0095] One or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials can be in any suitable form. One or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials can be in the form of layers and / or sheets and / or particles. The shape and / or size can be adjusted according to many factors. These factors can include the final application, or the product to which one or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials are introduced and / or applied, as well as the specific polymers and / or monomers selected.

[0096] Herein, one or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials may include one or more polymers selected from but not limited to: poly(ethylene vinyl acetate), poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(lactic acid), poly(acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), Nafion, nylon, nylon 6, nylon 6-6, polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketoneketone, polyetherketone, polyketone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, polyoxymethylene plastic, polyphenylene sulfide, polyphenylene ether, polysulfone, polyester resin, epoxy resin and mixtures thereof.

[0097] In one embodiment, one or more polymers, polymeric materials, or conductive polymer materials comprise or consist essentially of one or more homopolymers. In another embodiment, one or more polymers comprise or consist essentially of one or more copolymers. In yet another embodiment, one or more polymers, polymeric materials, or conductive polymer materials comprise or consist essentially of one or more copolymers, wherein one or more copolymers are derived from or are at least 2, 3, or 4 monomer groups.

[0098] One or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials or oligomers may contain one or more different monomers. In this article, at least one monomer may be selected from, but not limited to, methacrylate-based, acrylate-based, olefin-based, carbonate-based, acrylamide-based, methacrylamide-based, styrene-based or epoxide-based monomers, or mixtures thereof. For example, at least one monomer may be selected from, but not limited to, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-propyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, sec-butyl acrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, pentyl acrylate, hexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, octyl acrylate, tert-octyl acrylate, 2-chloroethyl acrylate, 2-bromoethyl acrylate, 4-chlorobutyl acrylate, cyanoethyl acrylate, 2-acetoxyethyl acrylate, dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, benzyl acrylate, methoxybenzyl acrylate, 2-chlorocyclohexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, furfuryl acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, 5 ... 2-hydroxypentyl acrylate, 2-methoxyethyl acrylate, 3-methoxybutyl acrylate, 2-ethoxybutyl acrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl acrylate, 2-isopropoxy acrylate, 2-butoxyethyl acrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol acrylate, 1-bromo-2-methoxyethyl acrylate and 1,1-dichloro-2-ethoxyethyl acrylate; methacrylates, optionally: methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, n-propyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, sec-butyl methacrylate, tert-butyl methacrylate, amyl methacrylate, hexyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate chloride, octyl methacrylate, octadecyl methacrylate, sulfopropyl methacrylate, N-ethyl-N-phenylaminoethyl methacrylate, 2-(3-phenylpropoxy)ethyl methacrylate, dimethylaminophenoxyethyl methacrylate, furfuryl methacrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, toluene methacrylate, naphthyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 4-hydroxybutyl methacrylate, tris(2-hydroxyethyl)methacrylate, 4-hydroxybutyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 2 ...butyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxybutyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 2 Ethylene glycol monomethacrylate, dipropylene glycol monomethacrylate, 2-methoxyethyl methacrylate, 3-methoxybutyl methacrylate, 2-acetoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-isopropoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-butoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol methacrylate, propylene methacrylate, and dimethylaminoethyl methyl chloride methacrylate;Vinyl esters, optionally: vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate, vinyl isobutyrate, vinyl hexanoate, vinyl chloroacetate, vinyl methoxy acetate, vinyl phenyl acetate, vinyl benzoate and vinyl salicylate; acrylamides, optionally: acrylamide, ethyl acrylamide, propyl acrylamide, isopropyl acrylamide, n-butyl acrylamide, sec-butyl acrylamide, tert-butyl acrylamide, cyclohexyl acrylamide, benzyl acrylamide, hydroxymethyl acrylamide, methoxyethyl acrylamide, dimethylaminoethyl acrylamide, phenyl acrylamide, dimethyl acrylamide, diethyl acrylamide, β-cyanoethyl acrylamide, N-(2-acetoacetoxyethyl) acrylamide and diacrylamide Ketoacrylamide; methacrylamides, optionally: methacrylamide, methyl methacrylamide, ethyl methacrylamide, propyl methacrylamide, isopropyl methacrylamide, n-butyl methacrylamide, sec-butyl methacrylamide, tert-butyl methacrylamide, cyclohexyl methacrylamide, benzyl methacrylamide, hydroxy methacrylamide, chlorobenzyl methacrylamide, octyl methacrylamide, octadecyl methacrylamide, sulfopropyl methacrylamide, N-ethyl-N-phenylaminoethyl methacrylamide, 2-(3-phenylpropoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, dimethylaminophenoxyethyl methacrylamide, furfuryl methacrylamide, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylamide, phenyl Methacrylamide, tolyl methacrylamide, naphthyl methacrylamide, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylamide, 4-hydroxybutyl methacrylamide, triethylene glycol monomethacrylamide, dipropylene glycol monomethacrylamide, 2-methoxyethyl methacrylamide, 3-methoxybutyl methacrylamide, 2-acetoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-isopropoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-butoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide , ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol methacrylamide, acrylamide methacrylamide, dimethylamino methacrylamide, diethylamino methacrylamide, cyanoethyl methacrylamide and N-(2-acetoacetoxyethyl) methacrylamide; olefins, optionally: dicyclopentadiene, ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, isoprene, chloroprene, butadiene and 2,3-dimethylbutadiene; styrenes, optionally: styrene, methylstyrene, dimethylstyrene, trimethylstyrene, ethylstyrene, isopropylstyrene, chloromethylstyrene, methoxystyrene, acetoxystyrene, chlorostyrene, dichlorostyrene, bromostyrene and methyl vinylbenzoate;Vinyl ether, optionally: methyl vinyl ether, butyl vinyl ether, hexyl vinyl ether, methoxyethyl vinyl ether and dimethylaminoethyl vinyl ether; butyl crotonate; hexyl crotonate; dibutyl itaconate; dimethyl maleate; dibutyl maleate; dimethyl fumarate; dibutyl fumarate; methyl vinyl ketone; phenyl vinyl ketone; methoxyethyl vinyl ketone; glycidyl acrylate; glycidyl methacrylate; N-vinyl oxazolidinone; N-vinyl pyrrolidone; acrylonitrile; methacrylonitrile; methylene dinitrile; vinylidene; and mixtures thereof. In one embodiment, one or more monomers may be selected from: ethylene, butene, vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, lactic acid, butadiene, acrylonitrile, styrene, tetrafluoroethylene, terephthalate, cyclic groups, heterocyclic groups, aromatic groups, heteroaromatic groups and mixtures thereof (the heteroaromatic groups optionally contain one or more N, O and / or S atoms). ;

[0099] In one embodiment, one or more polymers, oligomeric polymer materials or conductive polymer materials comprise a polymer derived from a monomer selected from the group consisting of ethylene, butylene, vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, lactic acid, butadiene, acrylonitrile, styrene, tetrafluoroethylene, terephthalate, cyclic groups, heterocyclic groups, aromatic groups, heteroaromatic groups and mixtures thereof (the heteroaromatic groups optionally comprising one or more N, O and / or S atoms).

[0100] In one embodiment, the one or more polymers, polymer materials, or conductive polymer materials comprise a polymer comprising metal and / or non-metal elements.

[0101] In one embodiment, one or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials further comprise additives, optionally selected from any component that can adjust the optical and / or mechanical properties of the selected polymer material, such as one or more additives for changing color and / or fiber to potentially enhance one or more polymers, and mixtures thereof. In another embodiment, one or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials do not contain or substantially do not contain other materials and / or additives.

[0102] Because a variety of different monomers and / or polymers may be used, material selection allows one skilled in the art to tailor the selection to provide one or more advantageous or beneficial properties, such as one or more mechanical, electrical, and / or chemical properties.

[0103] In one embodiment, one or more polymers, such as one or more insulating polymers, after application of at least one of an electric field, a magnetic field, temperature, and / or pressure, can have a resistivity of about, at least, or less than 1×10 7 Ωm.

[0104] In one embodiment, one or more polymers, such as one or more insulating polymers, have an electrical conductivity of about, at least, or more than 1×10 -7 sec / m.

[0105] One or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials can be a mixture of one or more polymers. One or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials can comprise a mixture in which one or more polymers are mixed in a manner to avoid separation of one or more polymers. Alternatively, one or more polymers can be arranged in a manner that allows separation, for example one or more polymers are provided in the form of a stack of discrete polymers.

[0106] The thickness of one or more polymers can vary, and the thickness of each polymer can be the same and / or different. In this article, one or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials, individually and / or collectively, can have a thickness of micrometers, millimeters, centimeters and / or meters.

[0107] In one embodiment, one or more polymers, polymer materials, or conductive polymer materials contain or are substantially free of particles, such as, for example, are free of or substantially free of particles containing metals.

[0108] In this article, one or more polymers, polymer materials or conductive polymer materials can be synthesized and / or manufactured by suitable methods in the art. Suitable methods include, but are not limited to, hot pressing, drop casting and optional pressing, spin coating, spray coating, blade coating, sputtering, thermal evaporation, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, electrochemical deposition, electron beam deposition, Langmuir-Blodgett deposition and colloidal deposition and mixtures thereof.

[0109] Other Materials

[0110] In this context, one or more polymers, polymer materials, or conductive polymer materials described herein may be used together with other materials, such as, but not limited to, one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting electric charge, and mixtures thereof.

[0111] One or more polymers, polymer materials, or conductive polymer materials may be disposed between multiple materials, for example as an intervening layer and / or a connecting layer between two other materials and / or layers.

[0112] Herein, the one or more metals may be selected from, but not limited to, silver, copper, gold, aluminum, molybdenum, zinc, lithium, brass, nickel, steel, palladium, platinum, tungsten, tin, bronze, lead, titanium, steel, iron, and mixtures and / or alloys thereof.

[0113] In this article, the one or more semiconductors may be selected from, but not limited to: elemental semiconductors, non-limiting examples of which include silicon, gallium, germanium, diamond (carbon), tin, selenium, tellurium, boron, phosphorus, and mixtures thereof; compound semiconductors include ZnSe, GaAs, GaN, InP, InGaAlP, InGaN, SiC, SiGe, and mixtures thereof. The semiconductor may be an i-type semiconductor, an n-type semiconductor, or a p-type semiconductor.

[0114] In this article, the one or more materials capable of conducting electric charge are selected from but not limited to: carbon-based materials, non-limiting examples of which include activated carbon, carbon nanoparticles, graphite, single-walled (SWCNT) or multi-walled (MWCNT) carbon nanotubes, branched carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, graphene, graphene oxide and mixtures thereof.

[0115] In this article, the one or more materials capable of conducting charge are selected from, but not limited to, conductive polymers, non-limiting examples of which include conductive polymers containing aromatic rings, double bonds, or combinations thereof. Conductive polymers may be selected from polymers in which heteroatoms are absent (i.e., only C and H are present) or in which heteroatoms are present (i.e., atoms other than C and H are also present). Non-limiting examples of conductive polymers include poly(fluorene), polyphenylene, polypyrene, polyazulene, polynaphthalene, poly(acetylene), poly(p-phenylene vinylene), poly(pyrrole), polycarbazole, polyindole, polyazepine, polyaniline, poly(thiophene), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), poly(p-phenylene sulfide), or combinations thereof.

[0116] Device

[0117] Disclosed herein is a device comprising one or more polymers, polymer materials, or conductive polymer materials conductive adhesives, as described herein.

[0118] In this article, the device can be selected from or used in: tandem solar cells: interconnect layers (for 2-terminal and 3-terminal configurations), perovskite / organic solar cells, electrode materials in batteries, organic thin film transistors for displays and circuits, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) for displays and lighting, bioelectronic devices, surgical devices and / or cell biology.

[0119] In one embodiment, a device as described herein comprises a conductive adhesive as defined herein, wherein the conductive adhesive is optionally a transparent conductive adhesive.

[0120] Also disclosed herein is a photovoltaic power generation device, which comprises a polymer material or a conductive polymer material as described herein as a conductive layer (e.g., a layer that can effectively transfer carriers from one side to another side) and / or an intermediate layer. The intermediate layer can be used as an adhesive and / or an adhesive layer. In one embodiment, the photovoltaic power generation device according to claim comprises, is essentially composed of, or is composed of a series of solar cell units, and the series of solar cell units comprises a polymer material or a conductive polymer material as described herein. In another embodiment, the polymer material or the conductive polymer material is present as at least one intermediate layer.

[0121] Also disclosed herein is the use of a polymer material or a conductive polymer material as described herein to form at least a portion of a device selected from, but not limited to, a battery, an organic thin film transistor, an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a bioelectronic device and / or a surgical device.

[0122] Also disclosed herein is a device comprising: a first layer; a second layer; and a third layer, wherein: - the third layer is arranged between the first layer and the second layer, and - the third layer comprises one or more polymers, polymeric materials or conductive polymeric materials, as defined herein.

[0123] Herein, the device further comprises: a top photovoltaic cell unit; and a bottom photovoltaic cell unit, wherein: - the first layer is arranged between the top photovoltaic cell unit and the third layer, and - the second layer is arranged between the bottom photovoltaic cell unit and the third layer.

[0124] In another embodiment, the surface of the photovoltaic cell in contact with the third layer is textured.

[0125] In one embodiment, the third layer is configured to provide no electrical conductivity along a direction parallel to a plane of the third layer.

[0126] In another embodiment, at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a semiconductor as defined herein.

[0127] In another embodiment, at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a metal as defined herein.

[0128] In another embodiment, at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a conductive adhesive, optionally a transparent conductive adhesive.

[0129] In another embodiment, the first layer is a semiconductor substrate and the second layer is a silicon substrate. In yet another embodiment, the surface of the silicon substrate in contact with the third layer is textured.

[0130] In yet another embodiment, the first layer is a photovoltaic cell unit and the second layer is a backing sheet comprising a first region of patterned conductors.The backing sheet may further comprise a second region that is transparent to solar radiation.

[0131] Example Embodiments

[0132] The present disclosure may be defined by one or more exemplary embodiments.

[0133] 1. A polymeric material comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers or one or more conducting polymers, said one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when the following occur: - applying a sufficiently strong electric field across the one or more polymers, and / or - applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently high temperature across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently strong pressure across said one or more polymers, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material is increased.

[0134] 2. A polymeric material comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers or one or more conducting polymers, said one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when the following occur: - the polymer material is disposed between a plurality of layers, each layer being independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting electric charge, and mixtures thereof; and - At least one of the following is true: ■ applying a sufficiently strong electric field across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying a sufficiently high temperature across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying sufficiently strong pressure across the polymer or polymers, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material is increased.

[0135] 3. A conductive polymer material formed from the polymer material according to Example Embodiment 1 or Example Embodiment 2, wherein the one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers are exposed to at least one of: the sufficiently strong electric field, the sufficiently strong magnetic field, the sufficiently high temperature and / or the sufficiently strong pressure.

[0136] 4. The conductive polymer material according to example embodiment 3, wherein the conductive polymer material is a conductive adhesive.

[0137] 5. The conductive polymer material according to example embodiment 3, wherein the conductive polymer material is a transparent conductive adhesive.

[0138] 6. A method of producing a conductive polymer material, the method comprising applying across one or more polymers (optionally one or more insulating polymers) at least one of: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The one or more polymers comprise one or more electron rich domains, wherein the conductivity of the one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers) is increased.

[0139] 7. A method of increasing the electrical conductivity of a polymeric material, the polymeric material comprising one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), the method comprising applying across the one or more polymers at least one of: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The one or more polymers comprise one or more electron rich domains, wherein the conductivity of the conductive polymer material is increased.

[0140] 8. A method of producing a conductive polymer material, the method comprising: - placing one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers, between a plurality of layers, said one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, each layer independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting charge, and mixtures thereof; and - applying across said one or more polymers at least one of: ■Sufficiently strong electric fields; and / or ■ a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or ■Sufficiently high temperature; and / or ■Sufficiently strong pressure, wherein the conductivity of the one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers) is increased.

[0141] 9. Use of one or more polymers (optionally one or more insulating polymers) in a polymeric material for producing a conductive polymer, the one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when at least one of the following is applied across the one or more polymers: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The electrical conductivity of the polymeric material (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers) is increased.

[0142] 10. The method or use according to any one of example embodiments 6 to 9, wherein the conductive polymer material is a conductive adhesive or a transparent conductive adhesive.

[0143] 11. Use of one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers), optionally one or more insulating polymers, for physically and electronically connecting a plurality of layers, each layer being independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting charge, and mixtures thereof; wherein when the following occur: - the one or more polymers are disposed between the plurality of layers, and - when at least one of the following is applied across said one or more polymers: ■Sufficiently strong electric fields; and / or ■ a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or ■Sufficiently high temperature; and / or ■Sufficiently strong pressure, The electrical conductivity of the one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers) is increased.

[0144] 12. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any one of the preceding example embodiments, wherein the strength of the electric field is at least 10 V / m, 20 V / m, 30 V / m, 40 V / m, 50 V / m, 60 V / m, 70 V / m, 80 V / m, 90 V / m or 100 V / m.

[0145] 13. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any one of the foregoing example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers) contain the one or more electron-rich domains present in the polymer backbone and / or side chains.

[0146] 14. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any of the foregoing example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers (or optionally monomers and / or oligomers) contain one or more electron-rich domains, and the one or more electron-rich domains are selected from one or more optionally substituted: double bonds, cyclic groups, heterocycles, aromatic rings, heteroaromatic rings, fluorine or fluorine-containing groups, cyano groups, carbonyl groups, aldehydes, hydroxyl groups, esters, carboxylic acids, glycidyl groups, amines, imines or atoms with unbound electrons, optionally selected from Li, Cu, Fe, Si, S, O, F, Br and mixtures thereof.

[0147] 15. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any of the preceding example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers comprise one or more polymers selected from the group consisting of poly(ethylene vinyl acetate), poly(methyl methacrylate), polylactic acid, poly(acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), Nafion, nylon, nylon 6, nylon 6-6, polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketoneketone, polyetherketone, polyketone, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide, polyoxymethylene plastic, polyphenylene sulfide, polyphenylene ether, polysulfone, polyester resin, epoxy resin and mixtures thereof.

[0148] 16. The polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any preceding example embodiment, wherein the one or more polymers comprise or consist essentially of one or more homopolymers, copolymers or mixtures thereof.

[0149] 17. The polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any preceding example embodiment, wherein the one or more polymers comprise or consist essentially of one or more homopolymers.

[0150] 18. The polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any preceding example embodiment, wherein the one or more polymers comprise or consist essentially of one or more copolymers.

[0151] 19. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any of the preceding example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers comprise or consist essentially of one or more copolymers, wherein one or more of the copolymers are derived from or are at least 2, 3 or 4 monomer groups.

[0152] 20. The polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any of the preceding example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers comprise a polymer derived from a monomer selected from, or the monomer or the oligomer is selected from or based on: methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-propyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, sec-butyl acrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, pentyl acrylate, hexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, octyl acrylate, tert-octyl acrylate, 2-chloroethyl acrylate, 2-bromoethyl acrylate, 4-chlorobutyl acrylate, cyanoethyl acrylate, 2-acetoxyethyl acrylate, dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, benzyl acrylate, methoxybenzyl acrylate, 2-chlorocyclohexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, furfuryl acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, 5-hydroxypentyl acrylate, 2-methoxyethyl acrylate, 3-methoxybutyl acrylate, 2-ethoxybutyl acrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl acrylate, 2-isopropoxy acrylate, 2-butoxyethyl acrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol acrylate, 1-bromo-2-methoxyethyl acrylate and 1,1-dichloro-2-ethoxyethyl acrylate; methacrylates, optionally: methacrylic acid esters Methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, n-propyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, n-butyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, sec-butyl methacrylate, tert-butyl methacrylate, amyl methacrylate, hexyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, chlorobenzyl methacrylate, octyl methacrylate, octadecyl methacrylate, sulfopropyl methacrylate, N-ethyl-N-phenylaminoethyl methacrylate, 2-(3-phenylpropoxy)ethyl methacrylate, dimethylaminophenoxyethyl methacrylate, furfuryl methacrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, toluene methacrylate, naphthyl methacrylate, 2-(3-phenylpropoxy)ethyl methacrylate -hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 4-hydroxybutyl methacrylate, triethylene glycol monomethacrylate, dipropylene glycol monomethacrylate, 2-methoxyethyl methacrylate, 3-methoxybutyl methacrylate, 2-acetoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-isopropoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-butoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol methacrylate, propylene methacrylate and dimethylaminoethyl methyl chloride methacrylate;Vinyl esters, optionally: vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate, vinyl isobutyrate, vinyl hexanoate, vinyl chloroacetate, vinyl methoxy acetate, vinyl phenyl acetate, vinyl benzoate and vinyl salicylate; acrylamides, optionally: acrylamide, ethyl acrylamide, propyl acrylamide, isopropyl acrylamide, n-butyl acrylamide, sec-butyl acrylamide, tert-butyl acrylamide, cyclohexyl acrylamide, benzyl acrylamide, hydroxymethyl acrylamide, methoxyethyl acrylamide, dimethylaminoethyl acrylamide, phenyl acrylamide, dimethyl acrylamide, diethyl acrylamide, β-cyanoethyl acrylamide, N-(2-acetoacetoxyethyl) acrylamide and diacrylamide Ketoacrylamide; methacrylamides, optionally: methacrylamide, methyl methacrylamide, ethyl methacrylamide, propyl methacrylamide, isopropyl methacrylamide, n-butyl methacrylamide, sec-butyl methacrylamide, tert-butyl methacrylamide, cyclohexyl methacrylamide, benzyl methacrylamide, hydroxy methacrylamide, chlorobenzyl methacrylamide, octyl methacrylamide, octadecyl methacrylamide, sulfopropyl methacrylamide, N-ethyl-N-phenylaminoethyl methacrylamide, 2-(3-phenylpropoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, dimethylaminophenoxyethyl methacrylamide, furfuryl methacrylamide, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylamide, phenyl Methacrylamide, tolyl methacrylamide, naphthyl methacrylamide, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylamide, 4-hydroxybutyl methacrylamide, triethylene glycol monomethacrylamide, dipropylene glycol monomethacrylamide, 2-methoxyethyl methacrylamide, 3-methoxybutyl methacrylamide, 2-acetoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-isopropoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-butoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide , ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol methacrylamide, acrylamide methacrylamide, dimethylamino methacrylamide, diethylamino methacrylamide, cyanoethyl methacrylamide and N-(2-acetoacetoxyethyl) methacrylamide; olefins, optionally: dicyclopentadiene, ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, isoprene, chloroprene, butadiene and 2,3-dimethylbutadiene; styrenes, optionally: styrene, methylstyrene, dimethylstyrene, trimethylstyrene, ethylstyrene, isopropylstyrene, chloromethylstyrene, methoxystyrene, acetoxystyrene, chlorostyrene, dichlorostyrene, bromostyrene and methyl vinylbenzoate;Vinyl ethers, optionally: methyl vinyl ether, butyl vinyl ether, hexyl vinyl ether, methoxyethyl vinyl ether and dimethylaminoethyl vinyl ether; butyl crotonate; hexyl crotonate; dibutyl itaconate; dimethyl maleate; dibutyl maleate; dimethyl fumarate; dibutyl fumarate; methyl vinyl ketone; phenyl vinyl ketone; methoxyethyl vinyl ketone; glycidyl acrylate; glycidyl methacrylate; N-vinyl oxazolidinone; N-vinyl pyrrolidone; acrylonitrile; methacrylonitrile; methylene dinitrile; vinylidene; and mixtures thereof. ;

[0153] 21. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any of the preceding example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers comprise a polymer derived from a monomer selected from the group consisting of, or the monomer is selected from, or the oligomer comprises: ethylene, butylene, vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, lactic acid, butadiene, acrylonitrile, styrene, tetrafluoroethylene, terephthalate, cyclic groups, heterocyclic groups, aromatic groups, heteroaromatic groups and mixtures thereof, the heteroaromatic groups optionally comprising one or more N, O and / or S atoms.

[0154] 22. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any of the foregoing example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers comprise one or more intrinsic conductive polymer materials, and the one or more intrinsic conductive polymer materials are optionally selected from: poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), polyacetylene (PA), polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy), polythiophene (PTH), poly(p-phenylene) (PPP), poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) and polyfuran (PF) and mixtures thereof.

[0155] 23. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any of the foregoing example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers comprise one or more non-intrinsic conductive polymer materials, and the one or more non-intrinsic conductive polymer materials optionally comprise or consist of a polymer matrix having a certain percentage of conductive material, wherein the conductive material is optionally selected from: metal particles, metal-coated particles, indium tin oxide particles, powdered graphite and mixtures thereof.

[0156] 24. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any of the foregoing example embodiments, wherein the one or more polymers are independently manufactured by one or more processes selected from the following: hot pressing, drop casting and optional pressing, spin coating, spray coating, doctor blading, sputtering, thermal evaporation, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, electrochemical deposition, electron beam deposition, Langmuir-Blodgett deposition and colloidal deposition and mixtures thereof.

[0157] 25. The polymer material, the conductive polymer material, the method or the use according to any preceding example embodiment, wherein the increase in conductivity is reversible or partially reversible.

[0158] 26. The polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any preceding example embodiment, wherein the conductivity is reversible or partial, by heat treatment, optionally thermal annealing or cooling, optionally supercooling.

[0159] 27. A polymer material or a conductive polymer material obtained by the method according to any one of the preceding example embodiments, wherein the polymer material is optionally a conductive polymer binder, optionally a transparent conductive binder.

[0160] 28. A device comprising the polymer material or the conductive polymer material according to any one of the preceding example embodiments.

[0161] 29. A device comprising: a first layer; a second layer; and a third layer, the third layer comprising a transparent conductive adhesive, wherein: - the third layer is arranged between the first layer and the second layer, and The third layer comprises the polymer material or the conductive polymer material according to any one of Example Embodiments 1 to 27.

[0162] 30. The device of Example Embodiment 28 or Example Embodiment 29, wherein the polymer material or the conductive polymer material is a conductive adhesive, optionally a transparent conductive adhesive.

[0163] 31. The device of Example Embodiment 28 or Example Embodiment 29, wherein the third layer is configured to provide no electrical conductivity along a direction parallel to a plane of the third layer.

[0164] 32. The device of any one of example embodiments 28 to 31, wherein at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a semiconductor.

[0165] 33. The device of any one of example embodiments 28 to 32, wherein at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a metal.

[0166] 34. The device of any one of example embodiments 28 to 33, wherein at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a transparent conductive material.

[0167] 35. The apparatus of any one of example embodiments 28 to 32, wherein the first layer is a semiconductor substrate, and the second layer is a silicon substrate.

[0168] 36. The device of example embodiment 35, wherein a surface of the silicon substrate in contact with the third layer is textured.

[0169] 37. The apparatus of example embodiment 29, further comprising: a top photovoltaic cell unit; and a bottom photovoltaic cell unit, wherein: - the first layer is arranged between the top photovoltaic cell unit and the third layer, and - the second layer is arranged between the bottom photovoltaic cell unit and the third layer.

[0170] 38. The device of Example Embodiment 29, wherein: the first layer is a photovoltaic cell unit and the second layer is a backing sheet comprising a first region of patterned conductors.

[0171] 39. The device of Example Embodiment 38, wherein the backing sheet further comprises a second region that is transparent to solar radiation.

[0172] 40. A photovoltaic power generation device comprising the polymer material or the conductive polymer material according to any one of example embodiments 1 to 27 as a conductive layer and / or an intermediate layer.

[0173] 41. The photovoltaic power generation device according to Example Embodiment 41, comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of a series-connected solar cell unit, wherein the series-connected solar cell unit comprises the polymer material or the conductive polymer material according to any one of Example Embodiments 1 to 27.

[0174] 42. The photovoltaic power generation device according to Example Embodiment 41 or Example Embodiment 42, wherein the polymer material or the conductive polymer material is present as at least one intermediate layer.

[0175] 43. Use of the polymer material or the conductive polymer material according to any one of example embodiments 1 to 27 for use in batteries, organic thin film transistors, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), bioelectronic devices, surgical devices and / or cell biology.

[0176] Examples

[0177] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the following non-limiting examples and, where relevant, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0178] Example 1. Experimental details

[0179] A heavily doped Si wafer (2 × 2 cm) with a back metal contact was used. 2 ) as substrate, to convert the insulating polymer layer into a conductive polymer layer. The selected polymer material illustrated by commercial epoxy resin is prepared here according to the standard process recipe of the selected polymer material, and then it is spin-coated on the polished silicon wafer. Subsequently, another Si wafer (wherein the polished side faces downward) is attached to the epoxy resin layer. The attached Si wafer is hot-pressed according to the standard curing method of the selected polymer, thereby forming a strong mechanical bond.

[0180] like Figure 1 As shown, voltage was then applied to the front and back metal contacts of the Si wafer for electrical processing. The conductivity of the polymer layer was characterized by monitoring the current using an Advantest direct current (DC) source measurement unit (SMU) with a 2A current limit.

[0181] To analyze its performance as an interlayer, polymer films were applied to bond semi-transparent III-V cells to Si wafers and ITO glass for electrical and optical characterization. The selected polymer layer was then used to bond the semi-transparent III-V cell to a Si bottom cell for 2-terminal (2T) III-V / / Si tandem cell fabrication. A 200nm thick Ag layer was evaporated on the back side of the HITSi cell as a back metal contact. A 1×1cm2 Ag layer was grown reversely on a GaAs substrate using a 200nm thick Ag layer. 2 A GaInP / GaAs double junction solar cell is used as the top cell. The III-V cell is attached to an epoxy coated substrate followed by the above described hot pressing process to cure the epoxy and achieve mechanical bonding. The GaAs substrate is then removed by wet chemical etching to fabricate the III-V device. The edges of the GaInP / GaAs cell are etched to expose the back cover layer for metal contact deposition. Finally, a 200 nm thick Au layer is deposited by electron beam evaporation using a mask to form metal contacts on the front surface (T1) of the III-V cell, the back cover layer (T2) of the III-V cell, and the front surface (T3) of the bottom substrate. Figure 2 The structures of the finished samples are shown in (a)-(c). Electrical treatments were performed via T2 and T3 to produce the conductive polymer layer.

[0182] Example 2. Effect of electrical treatment on the electrical properties of the polymer layer

[0183] The thickness of the epoxy layer was controlled by varying the spin speed during spin coating and characterized by cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. Figure 3 The dependence of epoxy thickness on the rotation speed is shown. As the rotation speed increases from 2000rpm to 10000rpm, the average thickness of the epoxy decreases from 900nm to 250nm. For each branch of the sample, the variation of epoxy thickness was measured to be within ±5%, and Figure 3 The standard deviations of the different branches of the samples are shown in .

[0184] Subsequently, the electrical treatment voltage was studied using Si / epoxy / Si samples with different epoxy thicknesses of 900 nm, 800 nm, 700 nm, and 450 nm. A sweep voltage from 0 V to 7 V was applied to the samples, where Figure 4 The measured IV curves are shown in (A). As the applied voltage increases, a sudden jump in the current of each sample is observed at a specific voltage (indicated by the dashed circle). The specific voltage that induces the sudden increase in current is identified as voltage V B . Figure 4 (b) shows the dependence of the specific voltage on the polymer thickness d. B It increases linearly with d, from 3V for the 450nm epoxy layer to 5V for the 900nm epoxy layer.

[0185] Another selected polymer, exemplified here by ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), was applied to bond the Si wafer, and the IV curves of the samples were measured after each treatment at an electric field of 3 V / μm, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 (a). With electrical treatment, the resistance of the sample dropped from >200Ω to 2Ω. In addition, by tuning the electric field applied to the film of a certain thickness, the degree of conductivity (i.e., the final resistance achieved) can be adjusted, which means that the conductivity is controllable. Figure 5 (b) shows the resistance of the EVA film adjusted by using different electric fields.

[0186] Example 3. Film Characterization

[0187] In order to investigate the mechanism of the conversion of the insulating polymer layer into a conductive layer by electrical treatment, the polymer surface was characterized by AFM imaging before and after treatment, as shown in Figure 2. Figure 6 As shown. In order to achieve topological conductivity across the thickness of the employed polymer film containing electron-rich domains, an electric field is applied to the film. Subsequently, the electron-rich domains move parallel to the applied electric field. Such movement or movement tendency leads to an enhanced degree of dangling / stretching of the covalent bonds involved and an accumulation of polymer chains containing electron-rich domains. Figure 6Demonstrated the realignment of vinyl acetate (VA) moieties in EVA films (5 μm) when placed in an electric field. Untreated EVA films contain randomly arranged polymer chains. After placing them in a 1 V / μm electric field for 5 seconds, VA chains accumulate. After treatment at a 2 V / μm electric field, VA chains are arranged in an ordered array. Under a suitable electric field, such accumulation / arrangement of VA moieties (containing C=O electron-rich domains) occurs throughout the depth of the film and allows the formation of many pathways for electron transport. Therefore, the EVA film becomes conductive across its thickness.

[0188] Example 4. Effect of electrical treatment on the optical properties of polymer layers

[0189] use Figure 7 (a) The structure shown was used to study the optical properties of the polymer layer after electrical treatment. Soldered contacts were made in the exposed areas of ITO for cyclic treatment. Figure 7 (b) shows the measured transmittance of the bonded ITO glass before and after electrical treatment. Figure 7 As shown in (b), the process of converting an insulating polymer film into a conductive material shows negligible effect on the optical properties of the polymer film. Therefore, the optical properties (e.g., transmittance) of the polymer film are determined by the intrinsic properties of the applied polymer material. Most polymer materials are as transparent as glass and can achieve a minimum absorption loss of <3%.

[0190] Example 5. Polymer as an intermediate layer

[0191] Since the polymer layer exhibits good electrical and optical properties after electrical treatment, the performance of polymers as interlayers and their impact on III-V cell efficiency are highlighted. The III-V top cell is bonded with the selected polymers on Si wafer and ITO glass to study their electrical and optical properties respectively.

[0192] Example 5.1 III-V battery cell bonded to Si wafer via polymer layer

[0193] Figure 8 (a) shows the structure of a III-V battery cell bonded to a Si wafer via a polymer layer. Figure 8 (a) shows its equivalent circuit.A standard cyclic electrical treatment is applied through the metal contacts on the back cover layer (T2) of the III-V cell and the front surface (T3) of the Si wafer to produce a conductive polymer layer. Figure 8 The IV measurement shown in (b) shows that the T2-T3 resistance is significantly reduced to 0.75Ω after standard cyclic electrical treatment. The T2-T3 resistance is a function of the GaAs cap layer (R cap )、Si wafer (R Si ) and polymer layer (R p). Therefore, after cyclic electrical treatment, the resistance of the polymer layer is reduced to below 0.75Ω, which is well below the resistance threshold of high-quality intermediate layers for efficient tandem battery cell manufacturing. [1][2]

[0194] Fig. 9 The JV curves of the III-V cell measured through different terminals before and after electrical treatment are shown. The JV curves of the III-V cell measured through the metal contacts on the front surface (T1) and the back cover layer (T2) of the III-V cell before and after electrical treatment are almost the same, indicating that the electrical treatment does not cause degradation of the cell. The T1-T2 measurement shows an efficiency of 20.93%, which is the highest without R P and R Si The cell performance was subsequently measured through the polymer layer via metal contacts on the front surface of the III-V cell (T1) and on the Si wafer (T3) to investigate the influence of the polymer layer resistance. Prior to electrical treatment, no current could be collected due to the high resistance of the polymer layer. Fig. 9 The red curve in the figure shows the JV curve measured by T1-T3 after the electrical treatment. It reveals that the series resistance increases slightly compared to the T1-T2 measurement, which reduces the FF from 87.00% to 84.62%. The open circuit voltage (V OC ) and short-circuit current density (J SC ) is consistent with that measured by T1-T2. P and R Si , so the efficiency obtained by T1-T3 measurements is slightly lower at 20.12%. Characterization of III-V cells bonded to Si wafers via polymer layers shows that cyclic electrical treatments will not damage the III-V cells and that relatively high performance is maintained after incorporation of polymer interlayers.

[0195] Example 5.2 Stability

[0196] Stability is another important factor in evaluating the performance of the polymer interlayer. The stability of III-V cells bonded to Si wafers via polymer layers was studied by monitoring the cell performance after electrical treatment. The samples were kept in N2 atmosphere for 120 days and T1 and T3 measurements were taken every 30 days. Fig.10 As shown, after 120 days, FF and V OC is constant, with FF dropping only slightly by 0.05%, and V OC The drop was 24.7 mV. These results indicate the good stability of the polymer bonding layer.

[0197] Example 5.3 III-V cell bonded to ITO glass via a polymer layer

[0198] The polymer layer was also used to bond III-V cells to ITO glass to study its optical properties as an interlayer. The effect of electrical treatment on long wavelength transmittance was first studied, and then an ARC layer was incorporated to enhance the transmittance of sub-bandgap light. Figure 2 (b) shows the structure of a III-V cell bonded on ITO glass, and Fig.11 (a) presents its equivalent circuit. After standard cyclic electrical treatment through the metal contacts on the back cover layer (T2) and ITO glass (T3) of the III-V battery cell, the T2-T3 resistance dropped to 12Ω, indicating that a conductive polymer layer was obtained. The T2-T3 resistance is higher than that of the III-V battery cell bonded on the Si wafer, which is mainly due to the lateral sheet resistance of the ITO layer being higher than that of the heavily doped Si wafer. Fig.11 Fig.11 In (c), the JV curves of a single III-V cell measured before and after electrical treatment via T1-T2 closely overlap. The measurement via T1-T3 through the polymer layer shows 78.01% FF, which is 3.86% lower than the T1-T2 measurement, mainly due to the lateral sheet resistance of the ITO layer.

[0199] The effect of cyclic electrical treatment on the optical properties of the polymer layer was investigated by measuring the transmittance of a III-V cell bonded on ITO glass before and after electrical treatment. Fig.12 As shown in Figure 2, no significant change in transmittance was observed after electrical treatment. Figure 7 The transmittance measured through the polymer layer on the bonded ITO glass shown in (b) is consistent, confirming the absence of optical losses at long wavelengths induced by cyclic electrical treatment. Thus, bonding through the polymer layer provides low resistance without loss of transmittance, avoiding the conventional trade-off between transparency and conductivity associated with previous composite interlayers containing metallic conductive particles. [3][4]

[0200] Several conclusions can be drawn from the characterization of III-V cells bonded on Si wafers and ITO glass by polymer layers. First, cyclic electrical treatment will not degrade the performance of the III-V cells. Second, electrical treatment will not induce any significant transmittance loss of sub-bandgap light in the III-V cells. These results indicate that the performance of bonding by polymer layers is good and that the polymer layers are promising for the fabrication of efficient 2T III-V / / Si tandem solar cells.

[0201] Example 6. Two-terminal III-V / / Si tandem solar cell bonded via polymer layer

[0202] A bonded 2T GaInP / GaAs / / Si tandem solar cell unit including a polymer layer is demonstrated. The GaInP / GaAs 2J top cell is bonded to the HIT Si bottom cell via the selected polymer. Fig.13 (a) shows the final structure of the device. To enhance the photocurrent of the sub-cells, multiple optical enhancement layers are incorporated into the tandem cells. Before bonding, an 80nm TiO2 layer is deposited at the rear of the III-V cell by spray pyrolysis to provide refractive index grading at the semiconductor / epoxy interface. After bonding, another 80nm TiO2 layer is sputtered onto the front surface of the III-V sub-cell to reduce the refractive index mismatch at the air / III-V interface. The sputtering method is used because spray pyrolysis requires high temperature annealing at 500°C, which will damage the polymer layer. Finally, a PDMS film is attached on top of the sputtered TiO2 layer, the texture of which is replicated from the textured front surface of the Si cell to reduce broadband reflections and extend the effective optical path length.

[0203] Fig.13 (b) shows an SEM image of the bonding interface. The space between the III-V top cell and the textured front surface of the Si bottom cell was completely filled with epoxy. After standard cyclic electrical treatments with metal contacts at the back cover layer of the III-V top cell and the front surface of the Si bottom cell (T2 and T3), a conductive polymer layer with a resistance of 40 Ω was obtained, as shown in Figure 2. Fig.13 (c) The resistance here is higher than that of the III-V cells bonded via polymer layers on Si wafers and ITO glass and is attributed to the non-uniformity of epoxy thickness caused by the textured Si surface. The resistance can be further reduced by optimizing the electrical treatment procedure for the textured surface bonding.

[0204] Fig.14The performance of a GaInP / GaAs / / Si tandem cell is shown, as well as the performance of a single III-V and Si sub-cell. The detailed parameters are summarized in Table 1. The JV curves measured across the polymer layer through the metal contacts on the front surface (T1) of the III-V cell and the front surface (T3) of the Si bottom cell are almost aligned with the curves of the III-V cell alone without passing through the polymer layer measured by T1 and T2. The FF drop of 1.80% to 68.81% in the T1-T3 measurement can be attributed to the combined resistance of the polymer layer and the lateral sheet resistance along the front surface of the Si sub-cell. The lateral resistance of Si should be the main reason for the FF drop, because the T1-T4 measurement of the entire tandem cell, which only involves the vertical transport of carriers within the Si cell, produces a high FF of 74.54%. The FF of the tandem cell is higher than the FF of each sub-cell, which means that the performance of the III-V / / Si tandem cell bonded by the polymer layer is limited by the quality of the sub-cells, rather than the polymer layer bonding layer.

[0205] Table 1. Device characteristics of III-V top cell, Si bottom cell and III-V / / Si tandem cell measured through different terminations.

[0206] The overall efficiency of the bonded 2T GaInP / GaAs / / Si tandem solar cell unit is 20.43%, where V OC is 2.953V, J SC 9.28mA / cm 2 , and the FF is 74.54%. The V OC Almost the same V as III-V (2.246V) and Si (0.682V) subcells OC The sum of the V OC Higher than other reported V of series-connected cells OC , indicating that through wire bonding (140mV) [5] , Smart stacking (140mV) [6] 、TCA bonding based on ZnO (200mV) [7] Bonding with metal ball (40mV) [8] A voltage drop occurs after making electrical connections. In addition, the FF of the III-V / / Si tandem cells bonded by the polymer layer is higher than that achieved by metal ball bonding using expensive bonding materials in previous reports. [8]

[0207] Example 7 - Reduction in Resistivity of Selected Materials

[0208] For a particular material, treatment is performed at different temperatures and / or pressures to reduce the resistivity of the material (e.g. Fig.15 The results are shown in Table 2.

[0209] Table 2. Resistance of selected materials under different conditions

[0210] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many changes and / or modifications may be made to the above embodiments without departing from the general broad scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention should be considered in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive.

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Claims

1. A polymer material comprising one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers or one or more conducting polymers, said one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when the following occur: - applying a sufficiently strong electric field across the one or more polymers, and / or - applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently high temperature across the one or more polymers; and / or - applying a sufficiently strong pressure across said one or more polymers, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material is increased.

2. A polymeric material comprising one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers or one or more conducting polymers, said one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when the following occur: - the polymer material is disposed between a plurality of layers, each layer being independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting electric charge, and mixtures thereof; and - At least one of the following is true: ■ applying a sufficiently strong electric field across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying a sufficiently strong magnetic field across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying a sufficiently high temperature across the one or more polymers; and / or ■ applying sufficiently strong pressure across the polymer or polymers, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material is increased.

3. A conductive polymer material formed from a polymer material according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers, are exposed to at least one of: the sufficiently strong electric field, the sufficiently strong magnetic field, the sufficiently high temperature and / or the sufficiently strong pressure. The conductive polymer material according to claim 3 , wherein the conductive polymer material is a conductive adhesive. The conductive polymer material according to claim 3 , wherein the conductive polymer material is a transparent conductive adhesive.

6. A method of producing a conductive polymer material, the method comprising applying across one or more polymers (optionally one or more insulating polymers) at least one of: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The one or more polymers comprise one or more electron rich domains, wherein the electrical conductivity of the one or more polymers is increased.

7. A method of increasing the electrical conductivity of a polymer material, the polymer material comprising one or more polymers, the method comprising applying across the one or more polymers at least one of: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The one or more polymers comprise one or more electron rich domains, wherein the conductivity of the conductive polymer material is increased.

8. A method of producing a conductive polymer material, the method comprising: - placing one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers, between a plurality of layers, the one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, each layer independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting charge, and mixtures thereof; and - applying across said one or more polymers at least one of: ■Sufficiently strong electric fields; and / or ■ a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or ■Sufficiently high temperature; and / or ■Sufficiently strong pressure, wherein the electrical conductivity of the one or more polymers is increased.

9. Use of one or more polymers (optionally one or more insulating polymers) in a polymeric material for producing a conductive polymer, the one or more polymers comprising one or more electron-rich domains, wherein when at least one of the following is applied across the one or more polymers: - a sufficiently strong electric field; and / or - a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or - a sufficiently high temperature; and / or - strong enough pressure, The electrical conductivity of the polymer material is increased.

10. The method or use according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the conductive polymer material is a conductive adhesive or a transparent conductive adhesive.

11. Use of one or more polymers, optionally one or more insulating polymers, for physically and electronically connecting a plurality of layers, each layer being independently selected from: one or more metals, one or more semiconductors, one or more materials capable of conducting charge, and mixtures thereof; wherein when the following occur: - the one or more polymers are disposed between the plurality of layers, and - when at least one of the following is applied across said one or more polymers: ■Sufficiently strong electric fields; and / or ■ a sufficiently strong magnetic field; and / or ■Sufficiently high temperature; and / or ■Sufficiently strong pressure, The electrical conductivity of the one or more polymers is increased.

12. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the strength of the electric field is at least 10 V / m, 20 V / m, 30 V / m, 40 V / m, 50 V / m, 60 V / m, 70 V / m, 80 V / m, 90 V / m or 100 V / m.

13. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprise the one or more electron rich domains present in the polymer backbone and / or side chains.

14. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprise one or more electron rich domains selected from one or more optionally substituted: double bonds, cyclic groups, heterocyclic rings, aromatic rings, heteroaromatic rings, fluorine or fluorine-containing groups, cyano groups, carbonyl groups, aldehydes, hydroxyl groups, esters, carboxylic acids, glycidyl groups, amines, imines or atoms with unbound electrons, optionally selected from Li, Cu, Fe, Si, S, O, F, Br and mixtures thereof.

15. The polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use of any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprise one or more polymers selected from the group consisting of poly(ethylene vinyl acetate), poly(methyl methacrylate), polylactic acid, poly(acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), Nafion, nylon, nylon 6, nylon 6-6, polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyetheretherketone, polyetherketoneketone, polyetherketone, polyketone, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide, polyoxymethylene plastic, polyphenylene sulfide, polyphenylene ether, polysulfone, polyester resin, epoxy resin and mixtures thereof.

16. The polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more polymers comprises or consists essentially of one or more homopolymers, copolymers or mixtures thereof.

17. A polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprises or consists essentially of one or more homopolymers.

18. A polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprises or consists essentially of one or more copolymers.

19. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprise or consist essentially of one or more copolymers, wherein one or more of the copolymers are derived from or are at least 2, 3 or 4 monomer groups.

20. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprise a polymer derived from a monomer selected from the group consisting of methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, n-propyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, sec-butyl acrylate, tert-butyl acrylate, pentyl acrylate, hexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, octyl acrylate, tert-octyl acrylate, 2-chloroethyl acrylate, 2-bromoethyl acrylate, 4-chlorobutyl acrylate, cyanoethyl acrylate, 2-acetoxyethyl acrylate, dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, benzyl acrylate, methoxybenz ... -chlorocyclohexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, furfuryl acrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, 5-hydroxypentyl acrylate, 2-methoxyethyl acrylate, 3-methoxybutyl acrylate, 2-ethoxybutyl acrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl acrylate, 2-isopropoxy acrylate, 2-butoxyethyl acrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol acrylate, 1-bromo-2-methoxyethyl acrylate and 1,1-dichloro-2-ethoxyethyl acrylate; methacrylates, optionally: methyl methacrylate, methacrylic acid Ethyl methacrylate, n-propyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, n-butyl methacrylate, isobutyl methacrylate, sec-butyl methacrylate, tert-butyl methacrylate, amyl methacrylate, hexyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, benzyl methacrylate, chlorobenzyl methacrylate, octyl methacrylate, octadecyl methacrylate, sulfopropyl methacrylate, N-ethyl-N-phenylaminoethyl methacrylate, 2-(3-phenylpropoxy)ethyl methacrylate, dimethylaminophenoxyethyl methacrylate, furfuryl methacrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, toluene methacrylate, naphthyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate , 4-hydroxybutyl methacrylate, triethylene glycol monomethacrylate, dipropylene glycol monomethacrylate, 2-methoxyethyl methacrylate, 3-methoxybutyl methacrylate, 2-acetoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-isopropoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-butoxyethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol methacrylate, propylene methacrylate, and dimethylaminoethyl methyl chloride methacrylate;Vinyl esters, optionally: vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate, vinyl isobutyrate, vinyl hexanoate, vinyl chloroacetate, vinyl methoxy acetate, vinyl phenyl acetate, vinyl benzoate and vinyl salicylate; acrylamides, optionally: acrylamide, ethyl acrylamide, propyl acrylamide, isopropyl acrylamide, n-butyl acrylamide, sec-butyl acrylamide, tert-butyl acrylamide, cyclohexyl acrylamide, benzyl acrylamide, hydroxymethyl acrylamide, methoxyethyl acrylamide, dimethylaminoethyl acrylamide, phenyl acrylamide, dimethyl acrylamide, diethyl acrylamide, β-cyanoethyl acrylamide, N-(2-acetoacetoxyethyl) acrylamide and diacrylamide Ketoacrylamide; methacrylamides, optionally: methacrylamide, methyl methacrylamide, ethyl methacrylamide, propyl methacrylamide, isopropyl methacrylamide, n-butyl methacrylamide, sec-butyl methacrylamide, tert-butyl methacrylamide, cyclohexyl methacrylamide, benzyl methacrylamide, hydroxy methacrylamide, chlorobenzyl methacrylamide, octyl methacrylamide, octadecyl methacrylamide, sulfopropyl methacrylamide, N-ethyl-N-phenylaminoethyl methacrylamide, 2-(3-phenylpropoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, dimethylaminophenoxyethyl methacrylamide, furfuryl methacrylamide, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylamide, phenyl Methacrylamide, tolyl methacrylamide, naphthyl methacrylamide, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylamide, 4-hydroxybutyl methacrylamide, triethylene glycol monomethacrylamide, dipropylene glycol monomethacrylamide, 2-methoxyethyl methacrylamide, 3-methoxybutyl methacrylamide, 2-acetoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-isopropoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-butoxyethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide, 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylamide , ω-methoxypolyethylene glycol methacrylamide, acrylamide methacrylamide, dimethylamino methacrylamide, diethylamino methacrylamide, cyanoethyl methacrylamide and N-(2-acetoacetoxyethyl) methacrylamide; olefins, optionally: dicyclopentadiene, ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, isoprene, chloroprene, butadiene and 2,3-dimethylbutadiene; styrenes, optionally: styrene, methylstyrene, dimethylstyrene, trimethylstyrene, ethylstyrene, isopropylstyrene, chloromethylstyrene, methoxystyrene, acetoxystyrene, chlorostyrene, dichlorostyrene, bromostyrene and methyl vinylbenzoate;Vinyl ethers, optionally: methyl vinyl ether, butyl vinyl ether, hexyl vinyl ether, methoxyethyl vinyl ether and dimethylaminoethyl vinyl ether; butyl crotonate; hexyl crotonate; dibutyl itaconate; dimethyl maleate; dibutyl maleate; dimethyl fumarate; dibutyl fumarate; methyl vinyl ketone; phenyl vinyl ketone; methoxyethyl vinyl ketone; glycidyl acrylate; glycidyl methacrylate; N-vinyl oxazolidinone; N-vinyl pyrrolidone; acrylonitrile; methacrylonitrile; methylene dinitrile; vinylidene; and mixtures thereof. ; 21. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprise a polymer derived from a monomer selected from the group consisting of ethylene, butylene, vinyl acetate, methyl methacrylate, lactic acid, butadiene, acrylonitrile, styrene, tetrafluoroethylene, terephthalate, cyclic groups, heterocyclic groups, aromatic groups, heteroaromatic groups and mixtures thereof, the heteroaromatic groups optionally comprising one or more N, O and / or S atoms.

22. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprise one or more intrinsically conductive polymer materials, the one or more intrinsically conductive polymer materials being optionally selected from: poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), polyacetylene (PA), polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy), polythiophene (PTH), poly(p-phenylene) (PPP), poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) and polyfuran (PF) and mixtures thereof.

23. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers comprise one or more extrinsic conductive polymer materials, the one or more extrinsic conductive polymer materials optionally comprising or consisting of a polymer matrix having a percentage of conductive material, wherein the conductive material is optionally selected from: metal particles, metal coated particles, indium tin oxide particles, powdered graphite and mixtures thereof.

24. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the one or more polymers are independently manufactured by one or more processes selected from the group consisting of hot pressing, drop casting and optional pressing, spin coating, spray coating, doctor blading, sputtering, thermal evaporation, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, electrochemical deposition, electron beam deposition, Langmuir-Blodgett deposition and colloidal deposition and mixtures thereof.

25. A polymer material, conductive polymer material, method or use according to any preceding claim, wherein the increase in conductivity is reversible or partially reversible.

26. A polymer material, a conductive polymer material, a method or a use according to any preceding claim, wherein the conductivity is reversible or partial, by heat treatment, optionally thermal annealing or cooling, optionally supercooling.

27. A polymer material or a conductive polymer material obtained by a method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the polymer material is optionally a conductive polymer binder, optionally a transparent conductive binder.

28. A device comprising a polymer material or a conductive polymer material according to any one of the preceding claims.

29. A device comprising: a first layer; a second layer; and a third layer, the third layer comprising a transparent conductive adhesive, wherein: - the third layer is arranged between the first layer and the second layer, and - The third layer comprises a polymer material or a conductive polymer material according to any one of claims 1 to 27.

30. A device according to claim 28 or claim 29, wherein the polymer material or the conductive polymer material is a conductive adhesive, optionally a transparent conductive adhesive.

31. A device according to claim 28 or claim 29, wherein the third layer is configured to provide no conductivity in a direction parallel to the plane of the third layer.

32. The device of any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a semiconductor.

33. The device of any one of claims 28 to 32, wherein at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a metal.

34. The device of any one of claims 28 to 33, wherein at least one of the first layer or the second layer comprises a transparent conductive material.

35. The device of any one of claims 28 to 32, wherein the first layer is a semiconductor substrate and the second layer is a silicon substrate.

36. The device of claim 35, wherein a surface of the silicon substrate in contact with the third layer is textured.

37. The device of claim 29, further comprising: a top photovoltaic cell unit; and a bottom photovoltaic cell unit, wherein: - the first layer is arranged between the top photovoltaic cell unit and the third layer, and - the second layer is arranged between the bottom photovoltaic cell unit and the third layer.

38. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein: The first layer is a photovoltaic cell unit and the second layer is a backing sheet comprising a first region of patterned conductor.

39. The device of claim 38, wherein the backing sheet further comprises a second region that is transparent to solar radiation.

40. A photovoltaic power generation device comprising the polymer material or conductive polymer material according to any one of claims 1 to 27 as a conductive layer and / or an intermediate layer.

41. The photovoltaic power generation device of claim 41, comprising, consisting essentially of, or consisting of a tandem solar cell unit comprising the polymer material or conductive polymer material of any one of claims 1 to 27.

42. The photovoltaic power generation device according to claim 41 or claim 42, wherein the polymer material or the conductive polymer material is present as at least one intermediate layer.

43. Use of a polymer material or a conductive polymer material according to any one of claims 1 to 27 for use in batteries, organic thin film transistors, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), bioelectronic devices, surgical devices and / or cell biology.

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