Vol. 34 No. 1
January-February 2012

Conducting Polymers

by Majda Zigon

This 75th Prague Meeting on Macromolecules (PMM) was held 10–14 July 2011 at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IMC) in Prague. It was devoted to conducting polymers, representing one of the most active and developing areas of polymer science. PMM conferences are well-known—the IMC has been organizing these international meetings every year since 1967.

The 75th PMM was organized by Jaroslav Stejskal and Miroslava Trchová under the auspices of the City of Prague, the vice-mayor Ivan Kabický, IUPAC, and the International Society of Electrochemistry. The conference has been approved as the official event of the International Year of Chemistry 2011. It attracted 124 participants from 37 countries and brought together both young and experienced researchers, as well as many students. At the opening ceremony, the attendees were welcomed by František Rypáček, director of the IMC, and Jaroslav Stejskal, co-organizer of the conference. The official IUPAC representative, Majda Žigon, from the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, Slovenia, outlined the activities of IUPAC in general and its Polymer Division in particular, as well as activities related to the International Year of Chemistry.

Group photo of participants at the 75th Prague Meeting on Macromolecules.

The conference highlighted areas such as the synthesis of conducting polymers and the preparation of their composites, their structural characterization, physical and chemical properties, modelling, and applications. The scientific program consisted of 7 invited lectures, 45 short contributed lectures, and 79 poster presentations. The invited lectures were of excellent quality and covered all aspects of conducting polymers. The first invited lecture was given by Adam Pron, France (“Low and High-Molecular-Weight Semiconductors for Organic Electronics: Synthetic Strategies, Characterization and Application to Organic Transistors). Other invited lectures were as follows:

• Gordana N. Ćirić-Marjanović, Serbia (“Compu-tational Insights into the Mechanism of the Oxidative Polymerization of Arylamines”)
  
• Mikhail A. Vorotyntsev, France (“Electrochemistry of Porphine-Based Electroactive Polymers”)
  
• Andrey N. Aleshin, Russia (“Conducting Polymers–Inorganic Nanoparticles Composites for Organic Optoelectronics”)
  
• Miroslava Trchová, Czech Republic (“Polyaniline–Silver Composites”)
  
• Jadranka Travas-Sejdić, New Zealand (“Two Applications of Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy to Conducting Polymers: Electropolymerization and Ion Flux Measurement”)
  
• Maria Omastová, Slovakia (“Polypyrrole, a Conducting Electroactive Polymer: From Past to Future”)

The conference was held in a friendly and stimulating atmosphere. The participants followed the lectures with great interest, which was reflected in fruitful discussions, which extended throughout the day and culminated in afternoon poster presentations, accompanied by selected specialties of Czech cuisine and beer. The participants voted for the best poster presentations, which were awarded at the conference’s closing ceremony. The winners were as follows:

• “Synthesis of Crystalline Polyaniline by Interfacial Polymerization” presented by Ahmed Mahmoud Youssef, Egypt
  
• “Controllable Optical, Electrical and Morphologic Properties of 3,4 ethylenedioxythiophen-based Electrocopolymerization Films” by Cheng Gu, China
  
• “Synthesis of Copolymers Used as Compatibilizers for Organic Solar Cells” by Sébastien-Jun Mougnier, France
  
• “Biocompatibility of Polyaniline” by Petr Humpolíček, Czech Republic.

Apart from the scientific work, the participants enjoyed a relaxed atmosphere in the evenings at the welcome reception, gala dinner, and during a visit to the Prague Old-Town Hall with the famous Astronomical Clock “Orloj,” standing at the oldest and most important square of historical Prague.

The conference was a great success also thanks to the Organizing Committee, composed of Elena Konyushenko, Ivana Šeděnková, Patrycja Bober, Zuzana Rozlívková, and Milena Exnerová and the Conference Secretariat, represented by Daniela Illnerová and Marie Rodová. Special thanks go to the official sponsors named above, the conference associates, and to the industrial sponsors.

www.imc.cas.cz/sympo/75pmm