Comparison between ab initio energy band structures of various chlorinated polyethylene derivatives

The band structures of various chlorinated polyethylene derivatives are calculated using an ab initio self-consisten field (SCF) linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) technique. The results illustrate that the conduction band is shifted steadily towards lower energies as the number of chlorine atoms in the unit cell increases, and the gap between valence and conduction bands is decreased monotonically. The possibility of n-doping is explored. The comparison between the band structures of the chlorinated polymers and that of polytrifluorochloroethylene shows that the latter possesses a lower-lying conduction band and is, therefore, more adequate for doping.