Design and synthesis of Ru(II-bipyridyl-containing conjugated polymers

A series of novel π-conjugated polymers containing ruthenium bipyridine complexes was synthesized by a cross-coupling reaction and characterized. These polymers exhibit absorption maxima around 330–350 nm (π-π*) and 460–500 nm metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT), respectively. They are soluble in common organic solvents, and all polymers can be converted into transparent films. We investigated the influence of different donating and acceptor diethynylarenes of the ultraviolet-visible spectra. The oxidation potential, which was measured by cyclic- and square-wave voltametry, showed a typical Ru^2+/3+ exhibited at 1.25 V versus the saturated calomel electrode. The polymers were further characterized with photoluminescence measurements. When excited at 442 nm ( 11a ), the polymer exhibited an emission peak at 690 nm. This peak was attributed to the MLCT states. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 722–732, 2004     

Design and synthesis of pyromellitic diimide‐based donor–acceptor conjugated polymers for photovoltaic application

Three of conjugated polymers based on pyromellitic diimide (PMDI) as the acceptor unit and thienothiophene (TT) as the donor unit were successfully synthesized by Stille coupling. The effect of the side chain length and thiophene π‐bridge on the polymers' optical and electrochemical properties was investigated. Electrochemical characterization indicated that these polymers have deep highest occupied molecular orbital energy levels between ?5.7 and ?5.8 eV. Polymer solar cells were fabricated by using these PMDI‐based polymers as the donor and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester as the acceptor. The polymer P1 whose PMDI unit was functionalized with 2‐ethylhexyl side chain shows the higher short‐circuit current (J_sc) and fill factor (FF) compared with that of P2 with a 2‐octyldodecyl side chain on the PMDI unit. The results also illustrate that the insertion of a thiophene π‐bridge between PMDI and TT (the polymer P3) leads to the broader absorption and better photovoltaic performance. The best performance was obtained from the cell based on the polymer P3 with a power conversion efficiency of 0.43% under the illumination of AM 1.5 G, 100 mW/cm². Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design and synthesis of monofunctionalized, water-soluble conjugated polymers for biosensing and imaging applications

Water-soluble conjugated polymers with controlled molecular weight characteristics, absence of ionic groups, high emission quantum yields, and end groups capable of selective reactions of wide scope are desirable for improving their performance in various applications and, in particular, fluorescent biosensor schemes. The synthesis of such a structure is described herein. 2-Bromo-7-iodofluorene with octakis(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether chains at the 9,9'-positions, i.e., compound 4, was prepared as the reactive premonomer. A high-yielding synthesis of the organometallic initiator (dppe)Ni(Ph)Br (dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane) was designed and implemented, and the resulting product was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. Polymerization of 4 by (dppe)Ni(Ph)Br can be carried out in less than 30 s, affording excellent control over the average molecular weight and polydispersity of the product. Quenching of the polymerization with [2-(trimethylsilyl)ethynyl]magnesium bromide yields silylacetylene-terminated water-soluble poly(fluorene) with a photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 80%. Desilylation, followed by copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction, yields a straightforward route to introduce a wide range of specific end group functionalities. Biotin was used as an example. The resulting biotinylated conjugated polymer binds to streptavidin and acts as a light-harvesting chromophore to optically amplify the emission of Alexa Fluor-488 chromophores bound onto the streptavidin. Furthermore, the biotin end group makes it possible to bind the polymer onto streptavidin-functionalized cross-linked agarose beads and thereby incorporate a large number of optically active segments.     

Synthesis and characterization of new selenophene‐based conjugated polymers for organic photovoltaic cells

Three new polymers poly(3,4′′′‐didodecyl) hexaselenophene) (P6S), poly(5,5′‐bis(4,4′‐didodecyl‐2,2′‐biselenophene‐5‐yl)‐2,2′‐biselenophene) (HHP6S), and poly(5,5′‐bis(3′,4‐didodecyl‐2,2′‐biselenophene‐5‐yl)‐2,2′‐biselenophene) (TTP6S) that have the same selenophene‐based polymer backbone but different side chain patterns were designed and synthesized. The weight‐averaged molecular weights (M_w) of P6S, HHP6S, and TTP6S were found to be 19,100, 24,100, and 19,700 with polydispersity indices of 2.77, 1.48, and 1.41, respectively. The UV–visible absorption maxima of P6S, HHP6S, and TTP6S are at 524, 489, and 513 nm, respectively, in solution and at 569, 517, and 606 nm, respectively, in the film state. The polymers P6S, HHP6S, and TTP6S exhibit low band gaps of 1.74, 1.95, and 1.58 eV, respectively. The field‐effect mobilities of P6S, HHP6S, and TTP6S were measured to be 1.3 × 10^?4, 3.9 × 10^?6, and 3.2 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1, respectively. A photovoltaic device with a TTP6S/[6,6]‐phenyl C₇₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (1:3, w/w) blend film active layer was found to exhibit an open circuit voltage (V_OC) of 0.71 V, a short circuit current (J_SC) of 5.72 mA cm^?2, a fill factor of 0.41, and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.67% under AM 1.5 G (100 mW cm^?2) illumination. TTP6S has the most planar backbone of the tested polymers, which results in strong π–π interchain interactions and strong aggregation, leading to broad absorption, high mobility, a low band gap, and the highest PCE. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Opto-electronic properties of conjugated polymers

There is growing evidence, both theoretical and experimental, that the primary optical excitations in conjugated polymers are of excitonic nature. They are formed instantaneously upon photoexcitation and migrate incoherently among chain segments differing in length and, concomitantly, in excitation energy. Migration is associated with spectral relaxation manifest in the occurrence of a dynamic Stokes shift. Time-resolved photoluminescence as well as energy transfer studies support this conceptual framework. In systems of the polyphenylenevinylene family the exciton binding energy is estimated to be about 0.4 eV, comparable to that in polydiacetylenes. However, transfer of a charge from an excited chain segment to neighboring chain segments costs less energy. Taking into account that all energy levels are disorder broadened this ensures that a fraction of excitations will find it energetically more favorable to decompose into an electron-hole pair on adjacent chains (off-chain or indirect exciton) that acts as precursor for photoconduction. Exciton breaking can be stimulated by a strong electric field as documented by cw and time resolved spectroscopy. Recent fluorescence as well as pump and probe measurements on a ladder type polymer (LPPP) with 150 fs time resolution will be reported which support the above conceptual framework and document the occurrence of stimulated emission.     

Design,synthesis, photophysical,and electrochemical properties of DCM‐based conjugated polymers for light‐emitting devices

A series of conjugated hyperbranched polymers, hyperbranched copolymers, and linear polymers containing 2‐pyran‐4‐ylidenemalononitrile (acceptor) and triphenylamine/fluorene (donor) units were synthesized and characterized by FTIR, ¹H NMR, thermogravimetric analyses, differential scanning calorimetry, gel permeation chromatography, UV–visible, photoluminescence, and cyclic voltammetry measurements. All the polymers show red‐light emission in the range of 566–656 nm both in solution and in solid state. The quantum efficiency of the polymers was in the range of 56–82%. Among the six polymers synthesized, only polymers containing fluorene units show T_g and polymers based on triphenylamine not exhibit T_g. The band gap of these polymers were found to be reasonably low; hyperbranched copolymer containing fluorene unit shows lowest band gap of 2.18 eV due to the stabilization of LUMO energy level by the electron withdrawing ? CN groups. The thermal and solubility behavior of the polymers were found to be good. All the EL spectra of the devices (indium‐tin oxide/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)/polymer/2,9‐dimethyl‐4,7‐diphenyl‐1,10‐phenanthroline/tris(8‐hydroxyquinoline)aluminum)/LiF/Al) show red‐light emission, and the device fabricated with P3 and P4 shows maximum luminance and luminous efficiency of 4104 cd m^?2 and 0.55 cd Å^?1 and 3696 cd m^?2 and 0.47 cd Å^?1, respectively, indicates that they had the best carrier balance. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Continuous flow synthesis of conjugated polymers

A selection of conjugated polymers, widely studied in organic electronics, was synthesised using continuous flow methodology. As a result of superior heat transfer and reagent control, excellent polymer molecular mass distributions were achieved in significantly reduced reaction times compared to conventional batch reactions.     

Design,synthesis and properties of molecular composites of rod-like polymers

Processing and performance of fiber reinforced polymers suffer from problems related to the heterogeneous nature of the composites. The strong impact of the nature of the interface between fibers and matrix adds to the complication of the field. Consequently many attempts have been made to reduce the cross-section of the reinforcing fibers to molecular dimensions and to increase the compatibility between the rod-like molecules or bundles of molecules and the isotropic matrix of ordinary flexible polymers. All such attempts have failed, mainly for reasons of thermodynamics which predict immiscibility of rods and coils on the molecular level. A possibility to create structures in which molecular rods are embedded in a continuous matrix of flexible chain segments exists nevertheless.¹ Rod-like backbone structures decorated with a skin of flexible side chains of moderate length in terms of the number of carbon atoms (typically C₆ - C₁₈-side chains) have been synthesized and tested for the spontaneous formation of molecular composites. Some of the materials built along this principle can be processed by solution casting or even melt extrusion. The academically more interesting materials can be built up layerwise by a modified Langmuir-Blodgett technique. The latter process gives rise to monodomain textures which allow for straight-forward testing of the mechanical properties by optical means (Brillouin-spectroscopy) and by piezoquartz-techniques. Hairy-rod macromolecules can also be synthesized which contain crosslinkable side chains. Thus, after formation of layered, oriented structures, these can be crosslinked photochemically or by curing. The result is a network, which is unidirectionally reinforced by the rod-like macromolecules. These novel types of networks can serve as membranes by which size exclusion is achieved via control of the distance between adjacent backbone molecules in the matrix. Recent synthetic advances in the field have concentrated on hairy-rod macromolecules based on cellulose alkyl ethers and on derivatives of poly-(p-phenylene). The latter materials serve as examples of systems which can be processed by casting and extrusion processes. Due to their excellent thermal stability relevant data on the rheological and mechanical-dynamical data have become available. These data serve to document the unique behavior of the hairy-rod macromolecules as bulk materials.     

Ethynylene‐containing donor–acceptor alternating conjugated polymers: Synthesis and photovoltaic properties

Four ethynylene‐containing donor‐acceptor alternating conjugated polymers P1 – P4 with 2,5‐bis(dodecyloxy) substituted phenylene or carbazole as the donor unit and benzothiadiazole (BTZ) as the acceptor unit were synthesized and used as donor polymers in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. The optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties of these four polymers with the ethylene unit located at different positions of the polymer chains were systematically investigated. Our results demonstrated that absorption spectra and the HOMO and LUMO energy levels of polymers could be tuned by varying the position of the ethynylene unit in the polymer chains. Photovoltaic devices based on polymer/PC₇₁BM blend films spin coated from chloroform and dichlorobenzene solutions were investigated. For all four polymers, open circuit voltages (V_oc) higher than 0.8 V were obtained. P4 , with ethynylene unit between BTZ and thiophene, shows the best performance among these four polymers, with a V_oc of 0.94 V, a J_sc of 4.2 mA/cm², an FF of 0.40, and a PCE of 1.6%. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of novel (X-DADAD)n conjugated polymers with fluorene and phenylene blocks

Novel fluorene- and phenylene-based conjugated polymers with the TBTBT molecular framework consisting of the thiophene (T) and benzothiadiazole (B) building blocks have been synthesized and investigated. It has been demonstrated that the variation of X building blocks with branched side chains in (X-TBTBT)_n-type structures, as well as the introduction of fluorine into the main chain, strongly affects the optical, electronic and physicochemical properties of the obtained polymers. The phenylene-based polymer with a fluorine- loaded TBTBT block achieves a power conversion efficiency of 7% in organic solar cells, which can be further improved by optimizing the active layer morphology.     

Discovery of new fluorescent materials from fast synthesis and screening of conjugated polymers

A combinatorial approach was developed for the synthesis and the screening of a large variety of conjugated polymers. The parallel synthesis of 96 polyaryleneethynylene derivatives was performed on a 12 x 8 format from diethynyl and dibromoaryl building blocks, via a palladium-catalyzed carbon-carbon coupling reaction. The qualitative distinction between fluorescent and nonfluorescent polymers as well as between the different emission colors were obtained from a simple visual test or via a 96-well plate reader spectrofluorimeter. New solid-state blue-emitting polymers were detected.     

Modulation of optical and electronic properties of quinoxailine‐based conjugated polymers for organic photovoltaic cells

The synthesis of donor–acceptor type semiconducting copolymers is described. Quinoxaline (QX) or difluorinated quinoxaline (DFQX) derivatives serve as electron acceptors, while thiophene (T) or selenophene (Se) serve as electron donors. Alternating polymers are synthesized through Stille cross‐coupling, and their thermal stability, optical and electrochemical properties, field‐effect carrier mobilities, film crystallinities, and photovoltaic performances are investigated. The intramolecular charge transfer between the electron‐donating and electron‐accepting units in the backbone induces absorption from 450 to 750 nm. The optical band‐gap energies of the polymers are between 1.65 and 1.73 eV, and depend on the polymer structure. Organic photovoltaic cells fabricated using a polymer composed of DFQX and selenophene (PSe‐DFQX) exhibit a power conversion efficiency of 5.14% with an open‐circuit voltage of 0.78 V, a short‐circuit current density of 11.71 mA/cm², and fill factor of 0.57 under AM 1.5 G irradiation (100 mW cm^?2). © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1904–1914     

Charge carrier mobility,photovoltaic, and electroluminescent properties of anthracene‐based conjugated polymers bearing randomly distributed side chains

This article reports on the synthesis, characterization, and properties of various anthracene‐containing poly (p‐phenylene‐ethynylene)‐alt‐poly(p‐phenylene‐vinylene) (PPE‐PPV) polymers (AnE‐PVs) bearing statistical distributions of various side chains. Primarily, the ratio of linear octyloxy and branched 2‐ethylhexyloxy side chains at the poly(p‐phenylene vinylene) (PPV) parts was varied, leading to the polymers stat, stat1, and stat2. Furthermore, polymers also containing asymmetric substituted PPV and poly(p‐phenylene ethynylene) units (bearing methoxy and 2‐ethylhexyloxy side chains) were prepared yielding stat3, stat4, and stat5. These materials exhibit a broad variation in their photovoltaic properties. It is once more shown that side chains and their distribution can crucially affect the photovoltaic device performance. The introduction of units with asymmetric substitution into these systems seems to be harmful for their utilization in photovoltaic applications. Organic field‐effect transistors were fabricated to investigate hole mobilities in these new materials. Large variance was observed, falling in the range of almost two orders of magnitude, indicating rather different π–π stacking behavior of the polymer backbones owing to side‐chain modifications. Moreover, a selection of the new polymeric systems was investigated regarding their potential for light‐emitting diode (LED) applications. Polymer LEDs using the polymers AnE‐PVstat, ‐stat3, ‐stat4, and ‐stat5, as the active layer showed turn‐on voltage of ～2 V and exhibited red light emission. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Design of novel substituted phthalocyanines; synthesis and fluorescence,DFT, photovoltaic properties

The 4-(2-[3,4-dimethoxyphenoxy] phenoxy) phthalonitrile was synthesized as the starting material of new syntheses. Zinc, copper, and cobalt phthalocyanines were achieved by reaction of starting compound with Zn(CH3COO)2, CuCl2, and CoCl2 metal salts. Basic spectroscopic methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance electronic absorption, mass and infrared spectrometry were used in the structural characterization of the compounds. Absorption, excitation, and emission measurements of the fluorescence zinc phthalocyanine compound were also investigated in THF. Then, structural, energy, and electronic properties for synthesized metallophthalocyanines were determined by quantum chemical calculations, including the DFT method. The bandgap of HOMO and LUMO was determined to be chemically active. Global reactivity (I, A, η, s, μ, χ, ω) and nonlinear properties were studied. In addition, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) maps were drawn to identify potential reactive regions of metallophthalocyanine (M-Pc) compounds. Photovoltaic performances of phthalocyanine compounds for dye sensitive solar cells were investigated. The solar conversion efficiency of DSSC based on copper, zinc, and cobalt phthalocyanine compounds was 1.69%, 1.35%, and 1.54%, respectively. The compounds have good solubility and show nonlinear optical properties. Zinc phthalocyanine gave fluorescence emission.     

N-heterocyclic carbene enabled synthesis of conjugated polymers

The Suzuki polycondensation of a dihalogenated 4,5-diphenylimidazole (2) with a fluorenyl diboronic acid diester followed by methylation afforded a conjugated poly(imidazolium) copolymer (P2) in 93% yield. Upon exposure to strong base, P2 was converted in situ to the corresponding poly(N-heterocyclic carbene) P3, as evidenced by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and a trapping experiment involving sulfur that afforded the corresponding poly(thiourea) P4. Similarly, treating a solution of P2 with KOtBu and [Ir(1,5-cyclooctadiene)Cl]₂ afforded a conjugated polymer bearing pendant Ir complexes (P5) in 63% yield. Thermal and photophysical analyses of the aforementioned polymers revealed that they were thermally stable with tunable fluorescence properties, features which poise them for use in various electronic and sensing applications. The presented methodology is expected to facilitate the synthesis of a broad range conjugated organometallic polymers from a common and readily accessible precursor.     

Donor-mediated band gap reduction in a homologous series of conjugated polymers

A family of six donor-acceptor-donor monomers was synthesized using combinations of thiophene, 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene and 3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole as donor moieties, and cyanovinylene as the acceptor moiety, to understand the effects of modified donor ability on the optoelectronic and redox properties of the resulting electropolymerized materials. Spectroelectrochemistry, differential pulse voltammetry, and cyclic voltammetry results indicate band gaps ranging from 1.1 to 1.6 eV and suggest that these polymers can be both p-type and n-type doped at accessible potentials. In situ conductivity results indicate that the n-type conductivity magnitude is modest, and the conductivity profile indicates a redox conductivity mechanism as opposed to a delocalized electronic band mechanism as observed for p-type doping.     

Synthesis, characterization and photovoltaic properties of thiophene copolymers containing conjugated side-chain

Five side-chain conjugated polythiophene derivatives, P1-P5, were synthesized by Stille coupling reaction. The effects of side-chain structures, bearing CC double bond, CC triple bond as well as different number of methoxy substituents on the benzene ring of the side-chains, on the optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties of the polymers were investigated. From P1 to P3, the effect of CC triple bond and CC double bond was compared. The results indicate that the content of the thiophene units with the CC triple bond in their conjugated side-chains not only influences the absorption shape and intensity, but also influences the energy bandgap and the photovoltaic properties of the polymers. From P3 to P5, the effect of methoxy substituents on the benzene ring of the conjugated side-chains was compared. On increasing the number of the methoxy groups on the benzene ring of the conjugated side chains, the visible π-π^∗ absorption of the conjugated polymer backbone become stronger both in solution and in film. Electron-donating ability of the methoxy groups decreased the bandgap of the polymers. The best polymer solar cell based on P5 with a structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/Polymer:PCBM (1:1 wt/wt)/Mg/Al showed a power conversion efficiency of 1.45% under the illumination of AM1.5, 80 mW/cm².     

Novel two‐dimensional donor–acceptor conjugated polymers containing quinoxaline units: Synthesis,characterization, and photovoltaic properties

Novel two‐dimensional donor–acceptor (D–A) structured conjugated polymers, P1–P4, were designed and synthesized by introducing electron‐deficient quinoxaline as core and electron‐rich alkoxyl‐phenylenevinylene in side chains and p‐phenylenevinylene, triphenylamine, or thiophene in main chain. Benefited from the D–A structures, the polymers possess low bandgaps of 1.75 eV, 1.86 eV, 1.59 eV, and 1.58 eV for P1, P2, P3, and P4, respectively, and show broad absorption band in the visible region: the shorter wavelength absorption peak at ～400 nm ascribed to the conjugated side chains and the longer wavelength absorption peak between 500 nm and 750 nm belonging to the absorption of the conjugated main chains. Especially, the absorption band of P4 film covers the whole visible range from 300 nm to 784 nm. The power conversion efficiencies of the polymer solar cells based on P1–P4 as donor and PCBM as acceptor are 0.029%, 0.14%, 0.46%, and 0.57%, respectively, under the illumination of AM 1.5, 100 mW/cm². The polymers with the low bandgap and broad absorption band are promising photovoltaic materials. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4038–4049, 2008     

Tetraalkoxyphenanthrene: a new precursor for luminescent conjugated polymers

[reaction: see text] We have developed a convenient synthesis of tetraalkoxyphenanthrene derivatives and demonstrated their use to form luminescent conjugated oligomers and polymers. Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of 2,7-diiodo-3,6-dimethoxy-9,10-di(2-ethylhexyloxy)phenanthrene produced high molecular weight poly(p-phenylene ethynylene)s and low molecular weight poly(p-phenylene vinylene)s. These new polymers, which are luminescent in the solid state and in solution, may be useful for developing LED or solar cell devices, or in chemical sensors.     

Vapor phase oxidative synthesis of conjugated polymers and applications

Since their discovery, electrically conductive polymers have gained immense interest both in the fields of basic and applied research. Despite their vast potential in the fabrication of efficient, flexible, and low‐cost electronic and optoelectronic devices, they are often difficult to process by wet‐chemical methods due to their very low to poor solubility in organic solvents. The use of vapor‐based synthetic routes, in which conductive polymers can be synthesized and deposited as a thin film directly on a substrate from the vapor phase, provides many unique advantages. This article discusses oxidative vapor deposition processes, primarily vapor phase polymerization and oxidative chemical vapor deposition, of conjugated polymers and their applications. The mild operating conditions (near room temperature processing) allow conformal and functional coatings of conjugated polymers on delicate substrates. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012