Conductive polymers or, more precisely,
intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) are
organic polymers that
conduct electricity. Such compounds may have metallic conductivity or can be
semiconductors. The biggest advantage of conductive polymers is their processability, mainly by
dispersion. Conductive polymers are generally not
thermoplastics,
i.e., they are not thermoformable. But, like insulating polymers, they are organic materials. They can offer high electrical conductivity but do not show similar mechanical properties to other commercially available polymers. The electrical properties can be fine-tuned using the methods of
organic synthesis and by advanced dispersion techniques.