Influence of bifurcation position and length of side chains on the structure of isoindigo-based conjugated polymer thin films

We chose a series of isoindigo-based conjugated polymer(ⅡDDT,ⅡDDT-C3 and ⅡDDT-C4) with different length of side chains and bifurcation positions to investigate the relationship between the degree of alignment and the length of side chains and bifurcation positions.We found that the dichroic ratio was increased from 2.37 to 5.23 when the side chain was longer and the bifurcation position was away from the backbone.The π-π stacking distance was decreased from 3.67 A to 3.61 A when the bifurcation position was away from the backbone because of its smaller hindrance and the d-spacing of the(100)was increased from 20.06 A to 25.21 A when the side chain was longer.All the polymers were adopted an edge-on orientation with the backbone paralleled with the long axis of fibers.The weak interaction of side-chain in ⅡDDT-C4 was beneficial for the molecules being rearranged in parallel during the contact line receding and the strong n-n interaction could accelerate the interchain assembly of the parallel molecules through π-π interaction to form aligned fibers.     

Semi-crystalline photovoltaic polymers with siloxane-terminated hybrid side-chains

Three types of semi-cry stalline photovoltaic polymers were synthesized by incorporating a siloxane-terminated organic/inorganic hybrid side-chain and changing the number of fluorine substituents.A branch point away from a polymer main backbone in the siloxane-containing side-chains and the intra-and/or interchain noncovalent coulombic interactions enhance a chain planarity and facile interchain organization.The resulting polymers formed strongly agglomerated films with high roughness,suggesting strong intermolecular interactions.The optical band gap of ca.1.7 eV was measured for all polymers with a pronounced shoulder peak due to tight π-π stacking.With increasing the fluorine substituents,the frontier energy levels decreased and preferential face-on orientation was observed.The siloxane-terminated side-chains and fluorine substitution promoted the intermolecular packing,showing well resolved lamellar scatterings up to(300) for this series of polymers in the grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering measurements.The PPsiDTBT,PPsiDTFBT and PPsiDT2 FBT devices showed a power conversion efficiency of 3.16%,4.40%and 5.65%,respectively,by blending with PC_(71)BM.Langevin-type bimolecular charge recombination was similar for three polymeric solar cells.The main loss in the photocurrent generation for PPsiDTBT:PC_(71)BM was interpreted to originate from the trap assisted charge recombination by measuring light-intensity dependent short-circuit current density(J_(SC)) and open-circuit voltage(V_(Oc)).Our results provide a new insight into the rational selection of solubilizing substituents for optimizing crystalline interchain packing with appropriate miscibility with PC71 BM for further optimizing polymer solar cells.     

Aliphatic Hyperbranched Poly（amido amine）s （PAMAMs） ： Preparation and Modification

A series of water soluble aliphatic hyperbranched poly(amido amine)s(PAMAMs) with the same or similar chemical structure of poly(amido amine) dendrimer was successfully synthesized from commercially available AB and Cn types of monomers by one-pot polymerization via the couple-monomer methodology(CMM). The AB type monomer used in this paper was methyl acrylate, and Cn monomers were multi-amino compounds such as ethylenediamine (EDA), diethylenetriamine (DETA), triethylenetetraamine (TETA). tetraethylenepentaamine (TEPA) and pentaethylenehexamine (PEHA). The reaction mechanism was investigated by means of the mass spectra of the reaction intermediates. Adjusting the feed ratio of AB to Cn. hyperbranched polymers with different terminal groups and properties were obtained. FTIR, NMR, DSC. and TGA were used to characterize the polymers. It was found that the polymers‘ properties such as solubility, thermal behaviour and encapsulation capability varied with changing the feed ratio of AB to Cn. Benzoyl and palmitoyl groups were introduced into these macromolecules by acidylation to form amphiphilic hyperbranched polymers which have a high capability to encapsulate water soluble dyes such as Congo red. It is expected that the hyperbranched PAMAMs can play an important role in the industrial applications, such as coatings, cross-linking and phase-transferring agents because of their versatility and availability.     

Furan-containing conjugated polymers for organic solar cells

Development of organic semiconductors is one of the most intriguing and productive topics in material science and engineering. Many efforts have been made on the synthesis of aromatic building blocks such as benzene, thiophene and pyrrole due to the facile preparation accompanied by the intrinsic environmental stability and relatively efficient properties of the resulting polymers. In the past, furan has been less explored in this field because of its high oxidation potential. Recently, furan has attracted obsession due to its weaker aromaticity, the greater solubilities of furan-containing π-conjugated polymers relative to other benzenoid systems and the accessibility of furan-based starting materials from renewable resources. This review elaborates the advancements of organic photovoltaic polymers containing furan building blocks. The uniqueness and advantages of furan-containing building blocks in semiconducting materials are also discussed.     

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THERMOTROPIC COPOLYESTERS AND COPOLY (ESTER-AMIDE)S CONTAINING OXYETHYLENE-ETHER AS THE SPACER

Flexible oxyethylene-ether was introduced into the aromatic copolyesters and copoly(es-ter-amide)s to reduce the melting point of resulting polymers. The melting point was greatlyreduced to 200℃ or even lower in some cases, and the molecular weight was satisfactorilyhigh as reflected by inherent viscosity. The polymers exhibited high thermal stability and goodmechanical properties as determined by TGA and mechanical tests. The copolyester showedbetter crystallinity and liquid crystallinity than corresponding copoly(ester-amide)s with simi-lar monomer composition as reflected by POM observation and WAXD study. The meltingpoints for both copolyesters and copoly (ester-amide)s showed great dependence on the p-acetoxybenzoic acid (PAB) content in monomer composition and reached the lowest valuewhen PAB was 29 mol%.     

Synthesis and characterization of benzocyclobuten-4-yl acrylate monomer and its radical polymerization

<正>A benzocyclobuten-4-yl acrylate(1) monomer was prepared by esterification of 4-hydroxybenzocyclobutene with acryloyl chloride.The radical homopolymerization of 1 and copolymerization of 1 with styrene or n-butyl acrylate were carried out to produce linear polymers 2a,2b and 2c.Heating of these linear polymers under thermal initiation gave corresponding cross-linked polymers 3a,3b and 3c.The ring-opening reaction in the cross-linking process was confirmed by on-line infrared spectra.Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the glass transition temperatures of linear polymers 2a and 2b were 83.2℃and 68.1℃,respectively.Thermogravimetric analysis of the cross-linked polymers showed that they all exhibited good thermal stability.     

ACTIVE INTERMEDIATES IN PHOTORADICAL AGING OF POLYMERS

The data referring to the mechanism and efficiency of electronically excited macroradical and radical anionreactions, the important role of photochemical chain reactions in polymers are presented, It was found that by varying photonenergy, temperature, photolysis time and competition between thermal and photochemical reactions, it is possible to change the functional composition and molecular weight distribution of polymers.     

Preparation and Cyclic Voltammetry Characterization of Cu—dipyridyl Imprinted Polymer

Polymer capable of specific binding to Cu-dipyridyl complex was prepared by molecular imprinting technology. The binding specificity of the polymer to the template (Cu-dipyridyl complex) was in vestigated by cyclic voltametric scanning using the carbon paste electrode modified by polymer particles in phosphate buffer solution. Factors that influence rebinding of the imprinted polymer were explored. The result demonstrated that the cycllic voltammetry was an efficient approach to explore interactions between template and imprinted polymers.     

Synthesis and Thermal Crosslinking Behavior of Poly（aryl ether ketone）s Containing 1,4-Naphthalene Moieties

A new monomer, 1,4-bis(4-fluorobenzoyl) naphthalene (compound 2) was synthesized via a two-step reaction. 1,4-Naphthalenedicarboxylic acid chloride (compound 1) was prepared by using the acyl chlorization reaction of 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid with thionyl chloride. The Friedel-Crafts acylation of compound 1 with fluorobenzene afforded compound 2 in a 80% yield. The polycondensation of compound 2 with various bisphenols in tetramethylene sulfone(TMS) in the presence of excess potassium carbonate as a condensation reagent was carried out at 210℃ to quantitatively afford the corresponding poly(aryl ether ketone)s (compounds 3-8) containing 1,4-naphthalene moieties. Thermal analyses showed that the polymers have Tg values ranging from 496 to 500 K and are thermally stable in air with initial mass loss above 500℃. These novel polymers exhibited an excellent solubility in organic solvents including NMP, DMAc, and chloroform, etc. In addition, the glass transition temperatures of these polymers increased and the polymers became insoluble in chloroform after treated at 260℃, indicating the occurrence of a thermal crosslinking reaction.     

Synthesis and characterization of porphyrin‐based D‐π‐A conjugated polymers for polymer solar cells

Two novel porphyrin‐based D‐A conjugated copolymers, PFTTQP and PBDTTTQP , consisting of accepting quinoxalino[2,3‐b′]porphyrin unit and donating fluorene or benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene unit, were synthesized, respectively via a Pd‐catalyzed Stille‐coupling method. The quinoxalino[2,3‐b′]porphyrin, an edge‐fused porphyrin monomer, was used as a building block of D‐A copolymers, rather than the simple porphyrin unit in conventional porphyrin‐based photovoltaic polymers reported in literature, to enhance the coplanarity and to extend the π‐conjugated system of polymer main chains, and consequently to facilitate the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). The thermal stability, optical, and electrochemical properties as well as the photovoltaic characteristics of the two polymers were systematically investigated. Both the polymers showed high hole mobility, reaching 4.3 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1 for PFTTQP and 2.0 × 10^?4 cm² V^?1 s^?1 for PBDTTTQP . Polymer solar cells (PSCs) made from PFTTQP and PBDTTTQP demonstrated power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 2.39% and 1.53%, both of which are among the highest PCE values in the PSCs based on porphyrin‐based conjugated polymers. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013     

Synthesis and characterization of novel π‐conjugated polymers with phosphole ring derivatives

Novel π‐conjugated polymers ( 8 – 10 ) were prepared by the palladium‐catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reaction of three kinds of phosphole‐ring‐containing monomers with 2,5‐dihexyloxyl‐1,4‐diethynylbenzene. The obtained polymers ( 8 – 10 ) were regioregulated with the 2,5‐substituted phosphole ring in the polymer main chain and characterized with ¹H, ¹³C, and ³¹P NMR and FTIR. Polymers 8 – 10 were found to have an extended π‐conjugated system according to the results of UV–vis absorption spectra. In the fluorescence emission spectra of 8 – 10 , moderate emission peaks were observed in the visible blue‐to‐green region. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2867–2875, 2007     

Conjugated polymers based on 1,8‐naphthalene monoimide with high electron mobility

1,4,8,9‐Naphthalene diimides (NDIs) with strong electron accepting ability and high stability are excellent building blocks for semiconductor polymers. However, 1,8‐naphthalene monoimide (NMI) with similar structure and energy levels as that of NDI has never been used to construct conjugated polymers because of synthetic difficulty. Herein, 3,6‐dibromo‐NMI (DBNMI) with bulky alkyl groups was obtained effectively in a four‐step synthesis, and three donor‐acceptor (D‐A) type conjugated polymers based on NMI were firstly prepared. These polymers have strong absorption in the range of 300–600 nm, low LUMO level of 3.68 eV, and moderate bandgaps of 2.18 eV. Space charge limiting current measurements indicate these polymers are typical electron transporting materials, and the highest electron mobility is up to 5.8 × 10⁻³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, which is close to the star acceptor based on NDI (N2200, 5.0 × 10⁻³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 276–281     

Benzodifuran‐containing well‐defined π‐conjugated polymers for photovoltaic cells

Two well‐defined alternating π‐conjugated polymers containing a soluble electroactive benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]difuran (BDF) chromophore, poly(BDF‐(9‐phenylcarbazole)) (PBDFC), and poly(BDF‐benzothiadiazole) (PBDFBTD) were synthesized via Sonogashira copolymerizations. Their optical, electrochemical, and field‐effect charge transport properties were characterized and compared with those of the corresponding homopolymer PBDF and random copolymers of the same overall composition. All these polymers cover broad optical absorption ranges from 250 to 750 nm with narrow optical band gaps of 1.78–2.35 eV. Both PBDF and PBDFBTD show ambipolar redox properties with HOMO levels of ?5.38 and ?5.09 eV, respectively. The field‐effect mobility of holes varies from 2.9 × 10^?8 cm² V^?1 s^?1 in PBDF to 1.0 × 10^?5 cm² V^?1 s^?1 in PBDFBTD. Bulk heterojunction solar cell devices were fabricated using the polymers as the electron donor and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester as the electron acceptor, leading to power conversion efficiencies of 0.24–0.57% under air mass 1.5 illumination (100 mW cm^?2). These results indicate that their band gaps, molecular electronic energy levels, charge mobilities, and molecular weights are readily tuned by copolymerizing the BDF core with different π‐conjugated units. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Prepolymerization and postpolymerization functionalization approaches to fluorescent conjugated carbazole‐based glycopolymers via “click chemistry”

Facile prepolymerization and postpolymerization functionalization approaches to prepare well‐defined fluorescent conjugated glycopolymers through Cu(I)‐catalyzed azide/alkyne “Click” ligation were explored. Two well‐defined carbazole‐based fluorescent conjugated glycopolymers were readily synthesized based on these strategies and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR spectra, and UV‐vis spectra. The “Click” ligation offers a very effective conjugation method to covalently attach carbohydrate residues to fluorescent conjugated polymers. In addition, the studies of carbohydrate–lectin interactions were performed by titration of concanavalin A (Con A) to D ‐glucose‐bearing poly(anthracene‐alt‐carbazole) copolymer P‐2 resulting in significant fluorescence quenching of the polymer due to carbohydrate–lectin interactions. When peanut agglutinin (PNA) was added, no distinct change in the fluorescent properties of P‐2 was observed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2948–2957, 2009     

Aromatic Ring‐Fused Carborane‐Based Luminescent π‐Conjugated Polymers

A series of π‐conjugated polymers linked by benzocarborane (1,2‐(buta‐1′,3′‐diene‐1′,4′‐diyl)‐1,2‐dicarbadodecaborane) were synthesized via Sonogashira–Hagihara polycondensation reaction. The opened molecular structure of diiodo monomer containing benzocarborane resulted in fast polymerization and high molecular weights. The obtained polymers were fully characterized by ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹¹B NMR spectroscopies. UV‐vis absorption and photoluminescence studies revealed the acceptor‐profile of benzocarborane. Unlike the polymers linked by o‐carborane, these polymers exhibited strong luminescence in the solution state, presumably because the inductive effect of carborane is dominant, rather than cage‐π interactions.

     

Low bandgap π‐conjugated copolymers based on fused thiophenes and benzothiadiazole: Synthesis and structure‐property relationship study

A series of low bandgap conjugated polymers consisting of benzothiadiazole alternating with dithienothiophene (DTT) or dithienopyrrole (DTP) unit with or without 3‐alkylthiophene bridge have been synthesized. Effect of the fused rings and 3‐alkylthiophene bridge on the thermal, optical, electrochemical, charge transport, and photovoltaic properties of these polymers have been investigated. These polymers show broad absorption extending from 300 to 1000 nm with optical bandgaps as low as 1.2 eV; the details of which can be varied either by incorporating 3‐alkylthiophene bridge or by replacing DTT with DTP. The LUMO levels (?2.9 to ?3.3 eV) are essentially unaffected by the specific choice of donor moiety, whereas the HOMO levels (?4.6 to ?5.6 eV) are more sensitive to the choice of donor. The DTT and DTP polymers with 3‐alkylthiophene bridge were found to exhibit hole mobilities of 8 × 10^?5 and 3 × 10^?2 cm² V^?1 s^?1, respectively, in top‐contact organic field‐effect transistors. Power conversion efficiencies in the range 0.17–0.43% were obtained under simulated AM 1.5, 100 mW cm^?2 irradiation for polymer solar cells using the DTT and DTP‐based polymers with 3‐alkylthiophene bridge as donor and fullerene derivatives as acceptor. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5498–5508, 2009     

Synthesis and surfactochromicity of 1,4‐diketopyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrrole(DPP)‐based anionic conjugated polyelectrolytes

Two novel anionic conjugated copolyelectrolytes PSDPPPV and PSDPPPE were synthesized via Heck/Sonogashira coupling reactions and characterized by FT‐IR, ¹H NMR, UV‐vis, and PL spectroscopy. The two polymers are respectively constituted of 2,5‐diethoxy‐1,4‐phenyleneethynylene (DPV) and 2,5‐diethoxy‐1,4‐phenyleneethynylene (DPE) with 1,4‐diketo‐2,5‐bis(4‐sulfonylbutyl)‐3,6‐diphenylpyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrrole (SDPP) which is a novel water soluble diketopyrrolopyrrole derivative. PSDPPPV and PSDPPPE show broad absorption band in visible region and they exhibit strong fluorescence quenching in aqueous solution. The fluorescence of their aqueous solutions can be enhanced in the presence of cationic surfactant or polymer nonionic surfactant. Fluorescence enhancement by introduction of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) shows linear response. This result provides a controllable method to increase fluorescence intensity of dipyrrolopyrrole‐based conjugate polyelectrolytes in aqueous phase. The optical properties suggested that PSDPPPV and PSDPPPE which are negatively charged conjugated polymers can assemble with positively charged photovoltaic materials to form ionic photoactive layer. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 739–751     

Effect of Extended π‐Conjugation Structure of Donor–Acceptor Conjugated Copolymers on the Photoelectronic Properties

New donor–acceptor conjugated copolymers based on alkylthienylbenzodithiophene (BDTT) and alkoxynaphthodithiophene (NDT) have been synthesized and compared with their benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene (BDT)‐based analogues to investigate the effect of the extended π conjugation of the polymer main chain on the physicochemical properties of the polymers. A systematic investigation into the optical properties, energy levels, field‐effect transistor characteristics, and photovoltaic characteristics of these polymers was conducted. Both polymers demonstrated enhanced photovoltaic performance and increased hole mobility compared with the BDT‐based analogue. However, the BDTT‐based polymer (with π‐conjugation extension perpendicular to main chain) gave the highest power conversion efficiency of 5.07 % for the single‐junction polymer solar cell, whereas the NDT‐based polymer (with π‐conjugation extension along the main chain) achieved the highest hole mobility of approximately 0.1 cm² V^?1 s^?1 based on the field‐effect transistor; this indicated that extending the π conjugation in different orientations would have a significant influence on the properties of the resulting polymers.     

Synthesis and properties of σ–π conjugated alternating polymers consisting of carbazole and organosilicon units

We have synthesized novel σ–π conjugated polymers with an alternating organosilanylene and π‐electron system, intending to utilize them for hole‐transporting materials of electroluminescent (EL) devices. 3,6‐Di(lithioethynyl)carbazoles were co‐polymerized with organodichlorosilanes to give the corresponding polymers with molecular weights of M_W = 2000–5000. Another type of polymer with a thienylene unit was also synthesized by the nickel‐catalyzed reaction of the di‐Grignard reagent of 1,2‐bis[2‐(5‐bromothienyl)]tetraethyldisilane with 3,6‐dibromocarbazole, the molecular weight being M_n = 3100. The EL devices with a double‐layer system composed of tris(8‐quinolinolato)aluminum(III) and the present polymers as the emitting‐electron‐transporting and hole‐transporting layers, respectively, emit green EL with a maximum intensity of the order of 10³ cd m^?2. Of these, the device with the thienylene–carbazole polymers exhibited the highest luminance of 1480 cd m^?2. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.