Increasing conductive polymer life by reversing voltage
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorTodd M. Spath
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Abstract
The invention relates to a method of extending the life of conductive polymer in a device comprising providing conductive polymer, passing direct current through said polymer, and reversing the voltage gradient in the organic polymer conductor.
Claims27
A method of extending the life of thiophene containing conductive polymer in a device comprising
- providing a device including a conductive polymer, the device further including at least first and second connector electrodes in direct electrical contact with the conductive polymer;
- applying a voltage between the first and second electrodes to establish a voltage gradient across the conductive polymer;
- passing direct current through the conductive polymer;
- and
- reversing the voltage gradient across the conductive polymer, wherein the life of the thiophene containing conductive polymer is extended.
An article comprising a device including a conductive polymer, the device further including at least first and second connector electrodes in direct electrical contact with conductive polymer switching elements to apply a voltage between the first and second electrodes to establish a voltage gradient across the conductive polymer and pass direct current through the conductive polymer, and to reverse the voltage gradient across the conductive polymer, wherein the life of the device is extended and wherein the switching elements reverse the voltage gradient after each use of the conductive polymer.
A touch screen comprising a conductive polymer, the touch screen further including at least first and second connector electrodes in direct electrical contact with conductive polymer switching elements to apply a voltage between the first and second electrodes to establish a voltage gradient across the conductive polymer and pass direct current through the conductive polymer, and to reverse the voltage gradient across the conductive polymer, wherein reversing the voltage gradient causes an increase in the life of the device.
A method of extending the life of thiophene containing conductive polymer in a device comprising
- providing a device including a conductive polymer, the device further including at least first and second connector electrodes in direct electrical contact with the conductive polymer;
- applying a voltage between the first and second electrodes to establish a voltage gradient across the conductive polymer;
- passing direct current through the conductive polymer in a first direction;
- and
- reversing the voltage gradient across the conductive polymer thereby passing direct current in a second direction opposite the first direction, wherein the life of the thiophene containing conductive polymer is extended.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.