Extraordinary electrical conductance through amorphous non-conducting polymers under vibrational strong coupling

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that vibrational strong coupling of specific molecular modes in amorphous polymers can dramatically enhance their electrical conductance, achieving a six-order magnitude increase without external light excitation.

Contribution

It reveals a novel method to induce high electrical conductance in non-conducting polymers via vibrational strong coupling, a previously unexplored quantum light-matter interaction.

Findings

Electrical conductance increased by at least six orders of magnitude under strong coupling.

Conductance becomes temperature and cavity length independent at high coupling.

Quantum light enhances long-range coherent transport in amorphous polymers.

Abstract

Achieving electrical conductance in amorphous non-doped polymers is a challenging task. Here, we show that vibrational strong coupling of the aromatic C-H(D) out-of-plane bending modes of polystyrene, deuterated polystyrene, and poly (benzyl methacrylate) to the vacuum electromagnetic field of the cavity enhance the electrical conductivity by at least six orders of magnitude compared to the uncoupled polymers. The conductance is thermally activated at the onset of strong coupling. It becomes temperature and cavity path length independent at the highest coupling strengths, giving rise to the extraordinary electrical conductance in these polymers. The electrical characterizations are performed without external light excitation, demonstrating the role of quantum light in enhancing the long-range coherent transport even in amorphous non-conducting polymers.