Electrospun conducting polymers: recent trends and the transition towards a sustainable future

Electrospun nanofibres of conductive polymers have gained tremendous interest due to their excellent surface area, electrical conductivity, flexibility and tunable properties. However, the electrospinning of pure conducting polymers is challenging as they are hard to dissolve in common solvents. This review highlights the electrospinning of conducting polymers with details on the electrospinning procedure, different fibre morphologies and other electrospinning accessories. The comprehensive discussion in this paper includes the conducting polymers, their structures, properties and methods to improve the electrical, physical, optical and mechanical properties. Tuning the properties of conducting nanofibres is necessary to implement them in fibre‐based electronic devices with superior characteristics. The discussion also includes the progress made by electrospun conductive polymer fibres embodied with features such as high conductivity, exceptional stretchability and wettability and/or transmittance in applications such as sensing, energy storage, energy harvesting and tissue engineering. Finally, existing challenges in the electrospinning of the conducting polymers and the future research direction of conductive polymer nanofibre technology are presented.