Recent Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities of Conducting Polymers for Energy Storage Applications

Abstract The industrial and academic sectors have been closely observing the advantages of conventional polymers, primarily due to their easy preparation and low manufacturing costs. Recently, there has been a growing interest in conducting polymers (CPs) due to their unique characteristics. These polymers offer improved environmental durability, impressive mechanical and optical potential, ease of manufacturability, and a range of electrical properties compared to conventional inorganic materials. This review focuses on the chemical structures, properties, and synthesis of the most prevalent types of CPs. Furthermore, an analysis of conducting composites is conducted to evaluate their performance in energy storage devices. The review specifically focuses on the growth of their operations in energy storage technologies such as Lithium ion batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors (SCs). It also explores the current challenges faced by CPs potential applications for advancing energy storage systems. This review aims to advance understanding of the role of CPs for energy storage applications. In summary, conductive polymers offer a wide range of applications due to their unique features and suitable production techniques for energy storage system (ESS) application. However, there is still significant work to be carried out to enhance the performance of conduction polymers for ESSs. This overview has provided an introduction to traditional conductive polymers as functional materials, including information on their polymerization processes, advantages, disadvantages and the most promising ESS applications to date, such as various batteries and supercapacitors. It is worth noting that conductive polymers hold the potential to become crucial components in future ESSs. Achieving this potential will require further advancements in synthesis techniques, integration with other materials, as well as maximization and optimization of their capabilities.