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A strategy for creating elastomeric conducting polyaniline networks is described. Simultaneous elastomeric mechanical properties (E < 10 MPa) and electronic conductivities (σ > 10 S cm(-1)) are achieved via molecular templating of conjugated polymer networks. Diblock copolymers with star topologies processed into self-assembled elastomeric thin films reduce the percolation threshold of polyaniline synthesized via in situ polymerization. Block copolymer templates with star topologies produce elastomeric conjugated polymer composites with Young's moduli ranging from 4 to 12 MPa, maximum elongations up to 90 ± 10%, and electrical conductivities of 30 ± 10 S cm(-1). Templated polyaniline films exhibit Young's moduli up to 3 orders of magnitude smaller compared to bulk polyaniline films while preserving comparable bulk electronic conductivity. Flexible conducting polymers have prospective applications in devices for energy storage and conversion, consumer electronics, and bioelectronics.

The effect of morphology on charge transport in organic photovoltaics is assessed using Monte Carlo. In isotopic two-phase morphologies, increasing the domain size from 6.3 to 18.3 nm improves the fill factor by 11.6%, a result of decreased tortuosity and relaxation of Coulombic barriers. Additionally, when small aggregates of electron acceptors are interdispersed into the electron donor phase, charged defects form in the system, reducing fill factors by 23.3% on average, compared with systems without aggregates. In contrast, systems with idealized connectivity show a 3.31% decrease in fill factor when domain size was increased from 4 to 64 nm. We attribute this to a decreased rate of exciton separation at donor-acceptor interfaces. Finally, we notice that the presence of Coulomb interactions increases device performance as devices become smaller. The results suggest that for commonly found isotropic morphologies the Coulomb interactions between charge carriers dominates exciton separation effects.