Electrochemical synthesis and characterization of conducting polymers in supercritical carbon dioxide

This contribution reports the first synthesis of conducting polymers (CPs), specifically, polyaniline (PAn) and polypyrrole (PPy), in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). CPs synthesized electrochemically in scCO2 were characterized with cyclic voltammetry (CV), four-point probe conductivity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-vis spectroscopy. Preliminary data indicate that CPs synthesized by this method exhibit novel morphology and high conductivity comparable to that synthesized by traditional methods.     

Coupled Electrical Conduction in Coordination Polymers: From Electrons/Ions to Mixed Charge Carriers

The coupled transport of ions and electrons is of great potential for next‐generation sensors, energy storage and conversion devices, optoelectronics, etc. Coordination polymers (CPs) intrinsically have both transport pathways for electrons and ions, however, the practical conductivities are usually low. In recent years, significant advances have been made in electronic or ionic conductive coordination polymers, which also results in progress in mixed ionic‐electronic conductive coordination polymers. Here we start from electronic and ionic conductive CPs to mixed ionic‐electronic conductive CPs. Recent advances in the design of mixed ionic‐electronic conductive CPs are summarized. In addition, devices based on mixed conduction are selected.     

An Efficient Direct Arylation Polycondensation via C−S Bond Cleavage

The direct arylation polycondensation (DArP) has become one of the most important methods to construct conjugated polymers (CPs). However, the homocoupling side-reactions of aryl halides and the low regioseletive reactivities of unfunctionalized aryls hinder the development of DArP. Here, an efficient Pd and Cu co-catalyzed DArP was developed via inert C−S bond cleavage of aryl thioethers, of which robustness was exemplified by over twenty conjugated polymers (CPs), including copolymers, homopolymers, and random polymers. The capture of oxidative addition intermediate together with experimental and theoretic results suggested the important role of palladium (Pd) and copper (Cu) co-catalysis with a bicyclic mechanism. The studies of NMR, molecular weights, trap densities, two-dimensional grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (2D-GIWAXS), and the charge transport mobilities revealed that the homocoupling reactions were significantly suppressed with high regioselectivity of unfunctionalized aryls, suggesting this method is an excellent choice for synthesizing high performance CPs.     

A New Dimension for Coordination Polymers and Metal–Organic Frameworks: Towards Functional Glasses and Liquids

There are two categories of coordination polymers (CPs): inorganic CPs (i‐CPs) and organic ligand bridged CPs (o‐CPs). Based on the successful crystal engineering of CPs, we here propose noncrystalline states and functionalities as a new research direction for CPs. Control over the liquid or glassy states in materials is essential to obtain specific properties and functions. Several studies suggest the feasibility of obtaining liquid/glassy states in o‐CPs by design principles. The combination of metal ions and organic bridging ligands, together with the liquid/glass phase transformation, offer the possibility to transform o‐CPs into ionic liquids and other ionic soft materials. Synchrotron measurements and computational approaches contribute to elucidating the structures and dynamics of the liquid/glassy states of o‐CPs. This offers the opportunity to tune the porosity, conductivity, transparency, and other material properties. The unique energy landscape of liquid/glass o‐CPs offers opportunities for properties and functions that are complementary to those of the crystalline state.     

Conjugated Oligomers and Polymers Sheathed with Designer Side Chains

Conjugated polymers (CPs) are often referred to as molecular wires because of their quasi one‐dimensional electronic wavefunctions delocalized along the polymer chains. However, in the solid state, CPs tend to self‐assemble through π‐stacking, which greatly attenuates the one‐dimensional nature. By molecular design, CPs can be molecularly insulated just like electric power cords, resulting in so‐called “insulated” molecular wires (IMWs). In this Focus Review, we will discuss their unique photophysical, electronic, and mechanical properties which originate from the absence of π‐stacking.     

Conjugated metallopolymers for fluorescent turn-on detection of nitric oxide

A series of eight pi-conjugated polymers (CPs) composed of phenylenevinylene, phenyleneethynylene, fluorene, and thiophene derivatives have been prepared with bipyridyl or terpyridyl substituents within the pi-conjugated backbone or at side-chain positions. These ligand-modified CPs serve as macromolecular scaffolds for conducting metallopolymers. The optical and photoluminescent properties of the polymers and corresponding copper(II) metallopolymers were investigated. Copper(II) is a highly efficient quencher of CP emission (75-100% quenching). CPs featuring bipyridyl units within the CP backbone are quenched more efficiently than those with terpyridyl units. The copper(II) metallopolymer undergoes reduction to the corresponding copper(I) species upon reaction with nitric oxide, with concomitant changes in integrated emission ranging from a 50% decrease to a 320% increase. The positive emission response is largest when Cu(II) was bound to the CP through bipyridyl units within the backbone, making these materials the best candidates for NO sensing by a turn-on emission mechanism.     

Recent Advances of AIE-Active Conjugated Polymers: Synthesis and Application

Conjugated polymers (CPs) have long been recognized as an important class of materials. The highly conjugated backbone of the CPs will facilitate the rapid exciton migration and result in amplification of fluorescence signals. However, CPs are likely to aggregate and form excimers in solid states, directly leading to the fluorescence quenching, namely aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ), hence inhibiting their prospective utilizations in a large degree. Since the effect of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is opposite to that of notorious ACQ, the AIE has raised great attention from scientists. CPs with AIE or aggregation-enhanced emission (AEE) features may help to solve the ACQ problem and meanwhile impart polymers with new properties and practical applications. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on the preparation of CPs with AIE or AEE characteristics, where AIE-active luminogens are located at polymer backbones or pendants. Their potential applications including fluorescent sensors, biological probes, and active layers for the fabrication of light-emitting diodes are also described.     

Influencing the phase transition temperature of poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) by molar mass,end groups,and polymer architecture

The easily accessible, but virtually overlooked monomer methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate was polymerized by the RAFT method using monofunctional, difunctional, and trifunctional trithiocarbonates to afford thermoresponsive polymers exhibiting lower critical solution temperature‐type phase transitions in aqueous solution. The use of the appropriate RAFT agent allowed for the preparation and systematic variation of polymers with defined molar mass, end‐groups, and architecture, including amphiphilic diblock, symmetrical triblock, and triarm star‐block copolymers, containing polystyrene as permanently hydrophobic constituent. The cloud points (CPs) of the various polymers proved to be sensitive to all varied parameters, namely molar mass, nature, and number of the end‐groups, and the architecture, up to relatively high molar masses. Thus, CPs of the polymers can be adjusted within the physiological interesting range of 20–40 °C. Remarkably, CPs increased with the molar mass, even when hydrophilic end groups were attached to the polymers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

水溶性共轭聚合物研究与应用进展

近年来,在水溶性共轭聚合物(CPs)方面的研究备受瞩目,由于它包含了聚合物共轭主链良好的光电性质的同时还兼具了良好的水溶性,因此在光电功能信息器件中有着特殊的应用,并显著地推动了包括生物传感、电致发光器件、太阳电池和场效应晶体管等有机光电子材料及其器件的发展.本文对近几年来水溶性CPs的合成及其应用进展做出简要的总结,...     

Room Temperature Anhydrous Suzuki–Miyaura Polymerization Enabled by C−S Bond Activation

The Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling is one of the most important and powerful methods for constructing C−C bonds. However, the protodeboronation of arylboronic acids hinder the development of Suzuki–Miyaura coupling in the precise synthesis of conjugated polymers (CPs). Here, an anhydrous room temperature Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction between (hetero)aryl boronic esters and aryl sulfides was explored, of which universality was exemplified by thirty small molecules and twelve CPs. Meanwhile, the mechanistic studies involving with capturing four coordinated borate intermediate revealed the direct transmetalation of boronic esters in the absence of H₂O suppressing the protodeboronation. Additionally, the room temperature reaction significantly reduced the homocoupling defects and enhanced the optoelectronic properties of the CPs. In all, this work provides a green protocol to synthesize alternating CPs.     

Cobalt Coordination Polymers Offering Hydrogen Bonding Cavities as Efficient Catalysts for Coupling Reactions

This work presents synthesis and characterization of two cobalt-based coordination polymers (CPs) prepared by using two positionally related pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide fragment-based ligands containing appended arylcarboxylic acid groups. While arylcarboxylate groups of ligands coordinate to the Co(II) ions to produce 2D CPs; the amidic N−H groups remain free and generate large cavities lined with hydrogen bonds. Such hydrogen bonding cavities based CPs were found to reversibly adsorb molecular iodine. The Lewis acidic Co(II) ions and metal-coordinated labile solvent molecules in CPs promoted noteworthy heterogeneous catalysis for Friedel crafts reactions as well as multicomponent condensation reactions.     

Direct laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry of conjugated polymers

Two conjugated polymers (CPs), poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PF) and poly(3-octylthiophene) (PT) were analyzed by direct laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-ToF MS). Because of their strong absorption near the wavelength of the laser (337 nm), easy and transient energy transfer properties and sufficient thermal stability, CPs can be desorbed and ionized directly without a matrix. For comparison, these two polymers were also analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-ToF MS in the positive reflectron mode. The results revealed that they are very similar in terms of quality and resolution. All results demonstrate that LDI-ToF MS is an alternative method for the mass characterization of some conjugated systems, thereby simplifying the process of sample preparation and result analysis.     

Hybrid π-conjugated polymers from dibenzo pentacyclic centers:precursor design,electrosynthesis and electrochromics

π-Conjugated polymers(CPs)represent one of the quite important and rapidly growing branches of flexible electrochromic materials.Electrosynthesized hybrid CPs employing dibenzo pentacycles(fluorenes,carbazoles,dibenzothiophenes,and dibenzofuran)as the backbones have received considerable attention owing to their special structures and interesting electrochromic performances.Recent studies show that polymers from these structures exhibit decent contrast ratios,favorable coloration efficiencies,low switching voltages,fast response time,excellent stability,and color persistence.Intrinsically,their electrochromic properties significantly depend on fine-tailoring of precursor monomer structures,and polymerization techniques and conditions.This review devotes to showing a clear picture of the research progress of dibenzo pentacycle-centered CPs via electrochemical polymerization,including fluorenes,carbazoles,dibenzothiophenes,and dibenzofuran-based hybrid electrochromic polymers.Critical influences of the tailored precursor structures on their electropolymerization and resultant polymer performances are highlighted,aiming at providing an insight for the development of novel fused ring-based polymer electrochromic materials.     

Challenge and Solution of Characterizing Glass Transition Temperature for Conjugated Polymers by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Thermomechanical properties of polymers highly depend on their glass transition temperature (T _g). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is commonly used to measure T _g of polymers. However, many conjugated polymers (CPs), especially donor–acceptor CPs (D–A CPs), do not show a clear glass transition when measured by conventional DSC using simple heat and cool scan. In this work, we discuss the origin of the difficulty for measuring T _g in such type of polymers. The changes in specific heat capacity (Δc _p) at T _g were accurately probed for a series of CPs by DSC. The results showed a significant decrease in Δc _p from flexible polymer (0.28 J g^?1 K^?1 for polystyrene) to rigid CPs (10^?3 J g^?1 K^?1 for a naphthalene diimide‐based D–A CP). When a conjugation breaker unit (flexible unit) is added to the D–A CPs, we observed restoration of the Δc _p at T _g by a factor of 10, confirming that backbone rigidity reduces the Δc _p. Additionally, an increase in the crystalline fraction of the CPs further reduces Δc _p. We conclude that the difficulties of determining T _g for CPs using DSC are mainly due to rigid backbone and semicrystalline nature. We also demonstrate that physical aging can be used on DSC to help locate and confirm the glass transition for D‐A CPs with weak transition signals. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 1635–1644     

Organic-inorganic nanohybrids through the direct tailoring of semiconductor nanocrystals with conjugated polymers

Two main synthetic strategies are used to prepare conjugated oligomer- or polymer-nanocrystal nanohybrids. In the first strategy ligand exchange is invoked to either replace with a bifunctional ligand, which contains a second functional group for coupling with conjugated oligomers or polymers (COs or CPs), or exchange for the functionalized COs or CPs in a "grafting-onto" process. Alternatively, in the second strategy the nanocrystal (NC) is passivated with functional ligands from which COs or CPs are directly grown in the absence of ligand exchange. The well-defined interface between the COs or CPs and NCs facilitates an efficient charge-transfer between them.     

Conductive polymer-based microextraction methods: A review

Conductive polymers (CPs) are classified as materials which exhibit highly reversible redox behavior and the unusual combined properties of metal and plastics. CPs, due to their multifunctionality, ease of synthesis and their stability, have attracted more attentions in different fields of research, including sample preparation. CPs along with several commercial hydrophilic sorbents, are alternative to the commercially available hydrophobic sorbents which despite their high specific surface areas, have poor interactions and retentions in the extraction of polar compounds. This review covers a general overview regarding the recent progress and new applications of CPs toward their synthesis and use in novel extraction and microextraction techniques including solid phase microextraction (SPME), electrochemically controlled solid-phase microextraction (EC-SPME) and other relevant techniques. Furthermore the contribution of nano-structured CPs in these methodologies is also reviewed.     

Control of Crystallinity of Vinylene-Linked Two-Dimensional Conjugated Polymers by Rational Monomer Design

The interest in two-dimensional conjugated polymers (2D CPs) has increased significantly in recent years. In particular, vinylene-linked 2D CPs with fully in-plane sp²-carbon-conjugated structures, high thermal and chemical stability, have become the focus of attention. Although the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) reaction has been recently demonstrated in synthesizing vinylene-linked 2D CPs, it remains largely unexplored due to the challenge in synthesis. In this work, we reveal the control of crystallinity of 2D CPs during the solvothermal synthesis of 2D-poly(phenylene-quinoxaline-vinylene)s (2D-PPQVs) and 2D-poly(phenylene-vinylene)s through the HWE polycondensation. The employment of fluorinated phosphonates and rigid aldehyde building blocks is demonstrated as crucial factors in enhancing the crystallinity of the obtained 2D CPs. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the critical role of the fluorinated phosphonate in enhancing the reversibility of the (semi)reversible C−C single bond formation.     

Controlled Crystallization of Cyano‐Bridged Cu–Pt Coordination Polymers with Two‐Dimensional Morphology

Two‐dimensional (2D) coordination polymers (CPs) have a highly accessible surface area that permits guest molecules to effectively access the micropores in the CPs. Here we report a bottom‐up synthesis of 2D cyano‐bridged Cu–Pt CP nanoflakes using trisodium citrate as a chelating agent, which controls the nucleation rate and the crystal growth. The lateral sizes of the CP nanoflakes are controlled by changing the amount of trisodium citrate used. We strongly believe that our method will be useful for the preparation of other types of 2D CP nanoflakes. The 2D CPs have many active sites for catalytic and electrochemical reactions, and furthermore the assembled CPs can be used as membrane filters.     

Viscoelastic Conjugated Polymer Fluids

The introduction of optoelectronic functions into viscoelastic polymers can yield highly sophisticated soft materials for biomedical devices and autonomous robotics. However, viscoelasticity and excellent optoelectronic properties are difficult to achieve because the presence of a large number of π‐conjugated moieties drastically stiffens a polymer. Here, we report a variation of additive‐free viscoelastic conjugated polymers (VE‐CPs) at room temperature by using an intact π‐conjugated backbone and bulky, yet flexible, alkyl side chains as “internal plasticizers.” Some of these polymers exhibit gel‐ and elastomer‐like rheological behaviors without cross‐linking or entanglement. Furthermore, binary blends of these VE‐CPs exhibit a never‐seen‐before dynamic miscibility with self‐restorable and mechanically induced fluorescence color changes.     

Spatial-controlled etching of coordination polymers

Nanoarchitectonics provide versatile opportunities for modifying the properties of coordination polymers(CP) other than molecular engineering.Spatial-controlled etching focuses on the controlled disassembly of the frameworks.The etching method provides an excellent opportunity for tailoring the properties and functions of the CPs.Here,we discuss the mechanism for controlled etching of the CPs and summarized the two main strategies utilized so far.Several examples are illustrated to demonstrate recent developments in this area.Moreover,advantages of the etched CPs are summarized in several important applications,including energy storage,catalysis and nanomedicine.