High electron mobility in ladder polymer field-effect transistors

Field-effect mobility of electrons as high as 0.1 cm2/(V s) is observed in n-channel thin film transistors fabricated from a solution spin-coated conjugated ladder polymer, poly(benzobisimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL), under ambient air conditions. This is the highest electron mobility observed to date in a conjugated polymer semiconductor. Comparative studies of n-channel thin film transistors made from a structurally similar nonladder conjugated polymer BBB gave an electron mobility of 10-6 cm2/(V s). These results demonstrate that electron transport can be as facile as hole transport in conjugated polymer semiconductors and that ladder architecture of a conjugated polymer can substantially enhance charge carrier mobility.     

间位聚亚吡啶基亚乙炔基共轭聚电解质的合成与溶液光物理性质

合成了单体1,4-双(3-磺酰化丙氧基)-2,5-二碘苯与2,6-二乙炔基吡啶,利用Heck-Sonogashira偶联反应制备了间位聚亚吡啶基亚乙炔基共轭聚电解质m-PPYPE-SO3Na,对单体以及聚合物进行了红外光谱与核磁氢谱表征.测试了该共轭聚电解质m-PPYPE-SO3Na的紫外-可见吸收光谱与荧光发射光谱.研究了该共轭聚电解质的溶液光物理性质,发现该聚电解质具有荧光发射的溶剂依赖性以及浓度依赖性,在水溶液中存在聚集.在聚合物溶液浓度为1×10-6mol/L左右时,聚集发射基本消失,说明此时在溶液中聚合物的聚集程度已经比较低.该聚电解质在水溶液中与表面活性剂之间存在一定的相互作用,加入非离子型高分子表面活性剂聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)的聚合物水溶液荧光显著增强,表明该表面活性剂破坏聚电解质的聚集.该共轭聚电解质的溶液光物理性质表明其具有成为水溶性荧光探针的应用潜力.     

非富勒烯聚合物太阳电池研究进展

综述了以p-型共轭聚合物为给体、n-型有机半导体为受体的非富勒烯聚合物太阳电池光伏材料最新研究进展,包括n-型共轭聚合物和可溶液加工小分子n-型有机半导体(n-OS)受体光伏材料,以及与之匹配的p-型共轭聚合物给体光伏材料.介绍的n-型共轭聚合物受体光伏材料包括基于苝酰亚胺(BDI)、萘酰亚胺(NDI)以及新型硼氮键连受体单元的D-A共聚物受体光伏材料,目前基于聚合物给体(J51)和聚合物受体(N2200)的全聚合物太阳电池的能量转换效率最高达到8.26%.n-OS小分子受体光伏材料包括基于BDI和NDI单元的有机分子、基于稠环中心给体单元的A-D-A型窄带隙有机小分子受体材料等.给体光伏材料包括基于齐聚噻吩和苯并二噻吩(BDT)给体单元的D-A共聚物,重点介绍与窄带隙A-D-A结构小分子受体吸收互补的、基于噻吩取代BDT单元的中间带隙二维共轭聚合物给体光伏材料.使用中间带隙的p-型共轭聚合物为给体、窄带隙A-D-A结构有机小分子为受体的非富勒烯聚合物太阳电池能量转换效率已经突破12%,展示了光明的前景.最后对非富勒烯聚合物太阳电池将来的发展进行了展望.     

Conformation Control of Conjugated Polymers

In the past few decades, conjugated polymers have aroused extensive interest in organic electronic applications. The electrical performance of conjugated polymers has a close relationship with their backbone conformation. The conformation of the polymer backbone strongly affects the πelectron delocalization along polymer chains, the energy band gap, interchain interactions, and further affects charge transport properties. To realize a rigid coplanar backbone that usually possesses efficient intrachain charge transport properties and enhanced π–π stackings, such conformation control becomes a useful strategy to achieve high-performance (semi)conducting polymers. This minireview summarizes the most important polymer structures through conformation control at the molecular level, and then divides these rigid coplanar conjugated polymers into three categories: 1) noncovalent interactions locked conjugated polymers; 2) double-bond linked conjugated polymers; 3) ladder conjugated polymers. The effect of the conformation control on physical nature, optoelectronic properties, and their device performance is also discussed, as well as the challenges of chemical synthesis and structural characterization.     

Advanced materials by functionalization of conjugated polymers

Applications of conjugated polymers to advanced materials are demonstrated with fabrications of functional molecular materials and devices by incorporation of functional molecules to conjugated and/or conducting polymer, ultrahigh anisotropic conducting polymer materials by topological polymerizations of LB multilayers of amphiphilic pyrrol, artificial conjugated polymer superlattice by the potential-programmed electro-polymerization and/or electrocopolymerization, and 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional porphyrin arrays connected with conjugated and/or insulating molecular wires with P(V) porphyrin and others, for molecular photonics and electronics.     

Segmented polymers — A new class of doped non-conjugated polymers with enhanced electrical conductivity

A new class of segmented non-conjugated dopable polymers, built up from short conjugated blocks connected with flexible chains (spacers), has been proposed. After the redox reaction of doping these polymers exhibit properties similar to those of the fully conjugated polymers and increase considerably their electrical conductivity. A solid state polymer effect has been observed. It has been found that the conjugated building units (biphenyl, diphenyl ether and 1,3,4-oxadiazole) do not interact with the dopant when included in a low molecular weight substance. When these units are incorporated in a polymer chain they change their reactivity and the polymer can be doped. The doping process takes place only when the polymer is in the solid state and the nature of this phase is of considerable importance. The phenomenon observed, i.e. doping of non-conjugated polymers with segmented structure could be explained with a favourable arrangement of the conjugated blocks in the solid phase, leading to enhanced π-π - interaction (equivalent to extended conjugation). By the collective interaction of several conjugated blocks with the dopant the polymer is partially oxidized and charge carriers are formed. The result is enhanced electrical conductivity.     

Side-chain engineering of high-efficiency conjugated polymer photovoltaic materials

In recent years,conjugated polymers have attracted great attention in the application as photovoltaic donor materials in polymer solar cells(PSCs).Broad absorption,lower-energy bandgap,higher hole mobility,relatively lower HOMO energy levels,and higher solubility are important for the conjugated polymer donor materials to achieve high photovoltaic performance.Side-chain engineering plays a very important role in optimizing the physicochemical properties of the conjugated polymers.In this article,we review recent progress on the side-chain engineering of conjugated polymer donor materials,including the optimization of flexible side-chains for balancing solubility and intermolecular packing(aggregation),electron-withdrawing substituents for lowering HOMO energy levels,and two-dimension(2D)-conjugated polymers with conjugated side-chains for broadening absorption and enhancing hole mobility.After the molecular structural optimization by side-chain engineering,the2D-conjugated polymers based on benzodithiophene units demonstrated the best photovoltaic performance,with powerconversion efficiency higher than 9%.     

Effect and Mechanism of Solvent Properties on Solution Behavior and Films Condensed State Structure for the Semi-rigid Conjugated Polymers

Solvents have an essential association with polymer solution behavior. However, few researches have been deeply done on this respect. In recent years, our research group focus on the study on effect of solvent properties on solution behavior and film condensed state structure for semi-rigid conjugated polymer up till to apply for optoelectronic device. Herein, influence of solvent properties including solubility of solvent, aromaticity, polarity and hydrogen bonds on semi-rigid polymer chain sol...     

Single molecule nanoparticles of the conjugated polymer MEH-PPV, preparation and characterization by near-field scanning optical microscopy

We have developed a straightforward method for producing a stable, aqueous suspension of hydrophobic, fluorescent pi-conjugated polymer nanoparticles consisting primarily of individual conjugated polymer molecules. Features of the method are the facile preparation, purity, unique optical properties, and small size (approximately 5-10 nm) of the resulting nanoparticles. The results of TEM, scanning force microscopy, and near-field scanning optical microscopy of particles cast from the suspension indicate that the particles are single conjugated polymer molecules. The NSOM results yield estimates of the optical cross-sections of individual conjugated polymer molecules. The UV-vis absorption spectra of the nanoparticle suspensions indicate a reduction in conjugation length attributed to deformations of the polymer backbone. Fluorescence spectra of the aqueous nanoparticle suspensions indicate interactions between segments of the polymer chain and intramolecular energy transfer.     

共轭高分子光电功能材料的多尺度性能研究——聚合物电子学领域中的新机遇

共轭高分子材料特异的金属或半导体的电子特性兼有质轻、价廉、易于加工的优点使其在有机场效应晶体管、有机太阳能电池和有机发光二极管等领域显示了重要的应用前景.然而,尽管经过几十年的不断研究,共轭高分子材料种类及其相关器件性能均已得到显著发展,但是共轭高分子材料的本征电荷传输特性仍不清楚,其研究面临巨大挑战,这主要是由共轭高分子材料本身分子量分布弥散、分子间相互缠结以及在常规旋涂薄膜器件中分子高度无序等特性所决定的.从调控共轭高分子聚集态结构的角度出发,不断提高共轭高分子的结构有序性及减小电荷传输过程中的晶界及缺陷密度,是实现共轭高分子材料本征性能认识的有效途径之一.本文首先简单归纳总结了研究者在共轭高分子多尺度聚集态结构调控及性能研究方面的初步结果,进一步结合国内外相关研究进展,重点对共轭高分子晶体方面的工作展开详细介绍,最后对该领域未来发展的挑战及机遇进行了简单评述.     

Chirality induction of π-conjugated chains through chiral complexation

Chirality induction of π-conjugated polyanilines through chiral complexation with the chiral palladium(II) complexes was demonstrated to afford the chiral conjugated polymer complexes. Complexation of the emeraldine base of poly(o-toluidine) (POT) with the chiral palladium(II) complex bearing one labile coordination site led to the formation of the chiral conjugated polymer complex, which exhibited an induced circular dichroism (ICD) based on the chirality induction into a π-conjugated backbone. The mirror image of the CD signal was observed with the chiral conjugated polymer complex, which was obtained from the chiral palladium(II) complex possessing the opposite configuration. The chirality of the podand ligand moieties of the palladium complex is considered to induce a propeller twist of the π-conjugated molecular backbone. The crystal structure of the chiral conjugated complex of N-bis(4′-dimethylaminophenyl)-1,4-benzoquinonediimine (L³) as a model compound of the polyaniline revealed a chiral propeller twist conformation of the π-conjugated backbone. Furthermore, chiral complexation with the cationic palladium(II) complexes provided the ionic chiral conjugated complexes.     

Enhancement of thermoelectric properties of D-A conjugated polymer through constructing random copolymers with more electronic donors

Developing new D-A conjugated polymer system for thermoelectric (TE) application is highly desirable. Herein, a series of random copolymers by incorporating 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) electron rich units into a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) D-A conjugated polymer were designed and synthesized. Compared to the alternating conjugated copolymer PDPP-3T, the HOMO level of the random copolymers are increased as part of the electron deficiency acceptor DPP units in the polymer chain were superseded by electron rich EDOT, which could contribute to effective p-doping. Moreover, through incorporating EDOT to construct random copolymers, it can also induce an orientation change from face-on dominated to edge-on dominated orientation as well as enhance the packing of copolymer chains, which is beneficial to the charge transport. Under same doping condition, the electrical conductivities of the doped polymers increase and the Seebeck coefficient decrease as the increasing of EDOT content, resulting in an optimized power factor of 6.4 μW m⁻¹ K⁻² for the random polymer with EDOT content of 40% which is four times higher than that of alternating conjugated copolymer PDPP-3T. These results demonstrated that constructing random copolymers by incorporating more electronic donors into D-A conjugated polymers may be a promising strategy for developing TE conjugated polymers.     

High charge carrier mobility in conjugated organometallic polymer networks

The improvement of charge transport in conjugated polymers is a focal point of current research. It is shown here that the carrier mobility can be substantially increased through the introduction of conjugated cross-links between the conjugated chains. Novel organometallic polymer networks based on a poly(p-phenylene ethynylene) (PPE) derivative and Pt0 were synthesized by ligand-exchange reactions between the linear PPE and a low-molecular Pt complex. Time-of-flight measurements revealed ambipolar charge carrier mobilities of up to 1.6 x 10-2 cm2 V-1 s-1 for these materials, which are an order of magnitude higher than those of the neat polymer and represent the highest mobilities yet observed in disordered conjugated polymers.     

荧光共轭聚合物在生物大分子检测中的应用*

共轭聚合物因其具有π-电子体系及共轭离域结构,一般都具有优异的发光性能,其发光强度和发射波长会随被检测化合物结构的不同而发生特异性响应,特别是在与被检测物相互作用过程中所产生电荷和能量能够沿共轭分子链进行有效传递,成倍放大这种作用,从而有效提高了检测灵敏度,这比相应的小分子化合物更具有优越性。目前共轭聚合物已被用于开发新型化学、生物传感器,尤其是在生物分子检测方面的应用得到迅速的发展。本文总结了近年来荧光共轭聚合物在生物传感方面的研究进展,主要讨论共轭聚合物在蛋白质、核酸及毒素检测中的应用。     

Conjugated Polymer Nanomaterials for Phototherapy of Cancer

Due to the excellent properties including high specificity,low side-effect and good biocompatibility,conjugated polymer nanomaterials have been served as efficient anticancer reagents in die past decades.According to the developed anticancer systems based on conjugated polymer nanomaterials,it could be summarized into three main cancer therapy strategies:photodynamic therapy(PDT),photothermal therapy(PTT)and combination therapy.In this mini review,we provide a brief introduction to three different cancer therapy modes,their mechanisms and potential biological applications.Furthermore,some perspectives on the further development of conjugated polymer nanomaterials are proposed in the territory of anticancer precision medicine.     

Fluorescein provides a resonance gate for FRET from conjugated polymers to DNA intercalated dyes

Fluorescence spectra show that excitation of the cationic water-soluble conjugated polymer poly[(1,4-phenylene)-2,7-[9,9-bis(6'-N,N,N-trimethylammonium)-hexyl]fluorene diiodide] (1) results in inefficient fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to ethidium bromide (EB) intercalated within double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). When fluorescein (Fl) is attached to one terminus of the dsDNA, there is efficient FRET from 1 through Fl to EB. The cascading energy-transfer process was examined mechanistically via fluorescence decay kinetics and fluorescence anisotropy measurements. These experiments show that the proximity and conformational freedom of Fl provide a FRET gate to dyes intercalated within DNA which are optically amplified by the properties of the conjugated polymer. The overall process provides a substantial improvement over previous homogeneous conjugated polymer based DNA sensors, namely, in the form of improved selectivity.     

OPTICAL PHASE CONJUGATION RESPONSE OF PHOTOINDUCED POLYMER FILMS CONTAINING AZOBENZENE MOIETIES WITH CHIRAL GROUP

An optically active monomer containing azobenzene moieties with chiral group (s-2-methyl-butyl), 4-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyloxy]-4'-(s-2-methyl-1-butyloxycarbonyl) azobenzene(Ml) was synthesized. Polymer (PMl)possessing optical phase conjugated response was obtained by homopolymerzation of the optically active monomer (Ml)using free radical polymerization. The polymer was very soluble in common solvents and good optical quality films could beeasily fabricated by spin coating. The optical phase conjugated responses of the polymer PM1 were measured by degeneratefour-wave mixing (DFWM). In comparison with polymer containing no chiral group, it was found from the preliminarymeasurement of photoisomeric change that optical phase conjugated response of the PM1 in the long-range order hexagonalsymmetry microstructure could be easily controlled by choosing the appropriate polarization direction of the irradiatingbeams (514.5 nm) and the irradiating number, presumably due to the chiral group in the PM1 molecular structure. For thecase of the polymer investigated here, a chiral group side chain was introduced to increase optical phase conjugated responseintensity with different polarization directions of the irradiating beams, which aims originally at searching for a new photo-ative material.     

Innenrücktitelbild: Developing Conjugated Polymers with High Electron Affinity by Replacing a C?C Unit with a B←N Unit (Angew. Chem. 12/2015)

The key parameters of conjugated polymers are lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels. Few approaches can simultaneously lower LUMO and HOMO energy levels of conjugated polymers to a large extent (>0.5 eV). Disclosed herein is a novel strategy to decrease both LUMO and HOMO energy levels of conjugated polymers by about 0.6 eV through replacement of a C C unit by a B←N unit. The replacement makes the resulting polymer transform from an electron donor into an electron acceptor, and is proven by fluorescence quenching experiments and the photovoltaic response. This work not only provides an effective approach to tune the LUMO/HOMO energy levels of conjugated polymers, but also uses organic boron chemistry as a new toolbox to develop conjugated polymers with high electron affinity for polymer optoelectronic devices.     

Developing Conjugated Polymers with High Electron Affinity by Replacing a CC Unit with a B←N Unit

The key parameters of conjugated polymers are lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels. Few approaches can simultaneously lower LUMO and HOMO energy levels of conjugated polymers to a large extent (>0.5 eV). Disclosed herein is a novel strategy to decrease both LUMO and HOMO energy levels of conjugated polymers by about 0.6 eV through replacement of a C? C unit by a B←N unit. The replacement makes the resulting polymer transform from an electron donor into an electron acceptor, and is proven by fluorescence quenching experiments and the photovoltaic response. This work not only provides an effective approach to tune the LUMO/HOMO energy levels of conjugated polymers, but also uses organic boron chemistry as a new toolbox to develop conjugated polymers with high electron affinity for polymer optoelectronic devices.     

Luminscent graphene quantum dots for organic photovoltaic devices

Recent research in organic photovoltaic (OPV) is largely focused on developing low cost OPV materials such as graphene. However, graphene sheets (GSs) blended conjugated polymers are known to show inferior OPV characteristics as compared to fullerene adduct blended with conjugated polymer. Here, we demonstrate that graphene quantum dots blended with regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) or poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4phenylenevinylene) polymer results in a significant improvement in the OPV characteristics as compared to GSs blended conjugated polymers. This work has implications for inexpensive and efficient solar cells as well as organic light emitting diodes.