Are there any types of non-metal, plastic electrical conductors?
No, very doubtful. Plastics are long chained organic molecules composed primarily of hydrogen and carbon. They are not very good conductors and almost always make good insulators. However carbon fiber nanotubes are good conductors and ceramics have been formed into superconductors. The primary reason why plastics are not good conductors is because their molecular shape is not set up for the easy transmission of electrons. The Fermi levels are occupied by electrons or in a configuration where they hold on to the electrons too much to allow conduction. Conductors have a lose hold on their outer shell electrons allowing them to be transferred. Electricity doesn’t so much as flow like water but is a passing of energy like a sound wave. Each atom conducts the charge passing electrons to off to each other. One electron hits a metal or conductor atom and it knocks another one free to be moved down the chain. The charge is constant, but the exact same electron isn’t making the entire circuit.
