Process that increases the thermal-equilibrium concentration of free charge carriers in a material to augment its electrical conductivity using chemical agents or additives (i.e. dopants).
Note: Typical dopants to organic polymers (compounds) are:
- Oxidants, giving positively charged (p-doped) polymers that act as hole conductors;
- Reductants, giving negatively charged (n-doped) polymers that mostly act as electron conductors;
- Strong Brønsted acids, which are indispensable dopants to polymers such as polyaniline.
Source:
PAC, 2020, 92, 1861. 'Terminology of polymers in advanced lithography (IUPAC Recommendations 2020)' on page 1872 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2018-1215)