The material has molecular fragments that are jumbled and disordered, but can still conduct electricity extremely well, which goes against all of the standard rules for conductivity.
“In principle, this opens up the design of a whole new class of materials that conduct electricity, are easy to shape, and are very robust in everyday conditions,” said John Anderson, an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago.
“Essentially, it suggests new possibilities for an extremely important technological group of materials,” said Jiaze Xie, the first author on the paper.
Conductive materials are essential in the creation of electronics and by far the oldest and largest group of conductors is the metals: copper, gold, aluminium.
About 50 years ago scientists developed a chemical treatment known as 'doping' that allowed conductors to be made out of organic materials. This is advantageous because these materials are more flexible and easier to process...