Impact of Liquid-Crystalline Chain Alignment on Charge Transport in Conducting Polymers

We develop a theoretical model to predict the impact of nematic liquid-crystalline alignment on charge transport in conducting polymer materials. Using polymer field-theoretic modeling, we predict the chain conformations in a polymer liquid-crystalline state as wormlike chains aligning via a Maier–Saupe interaction. The resulting chain conformations are inserted into our theoretical model for charge transport in a conducting polymer material, which has been previously vetted against experimental measurements in amorphous polymer materials. The resulting predictive model provides a foundational approach to assess the potential enhancement in charge mobility arising from chain alignment in a liquid-crystalline phase. We use this model to predict the mobility enhancement with increasing nematic alignment and varying molecular weight. These predictions offer insight into the potential for performance improvement for conducting materials that are processed from a liquid-crystalline state.