Dynamics of Disordered Structure of π-Conjugated Polymers Investigated by Solid-State NMR

Stochastically excitable threshold units using functional materials will potentially be among the key devices for the production of noise-driven bio-inspired sensors and information processors with ultra-low energy consumption. In particular, a noise generator and threshold unit will be able to be fabricated utilizing the fluctuations found in materials that include structural, electric dipole, magnetic, and spin. This article deals with studies of polymer dynamics mainly by C-13 solid-state NMR and structural fluctuations due to twist dynamics of pi-conjugated polymers near the order-disorder phase transition or twist glass transition. The twist dynamics of pi-conjugated polymers will be important in the design and production of future electronic devices such as bio-inspired stochastic information processors.