Halogenated benzothiadiazole-based conjugated polymers as efficient photocatalysts for dye degradation and oxidative coupling of benzylamines

Donor-acceptor(D-A) conjugated polymers are widely used in photovoltaic applications and heterogeneous catalysis due to their tunable building block and pre-designable structures. Here, a series of adjustable Donor-acceptor(D-A) benzothiodiazole-based conjugated polymers were designed and synthesized. The photocatalytic performance could be improved by fine-tuning the chemical structure by halogen substitution(F or Cl). The polymers exhibited excellent optoelectronic properties and were effectiv...     

A Cyano-Substituted Organoboron Electron-deficient Building Block for D-A Type Conjugated Polymers

The development of donor-acceptor(D-A) type conjugated polymers depends largely on the design of novel A building blocks.Herein, we report a novel A building block based on the cyano-substituted organoboron unit(SBN-3). Compared with the most common fluorine-substituted B←N unit, SBN-3 displays a significantly downshifted LUMO energy level because of the strong electron-withdrawing ability of cyano groups. In addition, due to the greater impact of cyano substitution on LUMO than on HOMO, SBN-3 e...     

Conjugated polymers containing B←N unit as electron acceptors for all-polymer solar cells

Polymer electron acceptors are the key materials in all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs).In this review,we focused on introducing the principle of boron-nitrogen coordination bond(B←N),and summarizing our recent research on polymer electron acceptors containing B←N unit for efficient all-PSC devices.Two approaches have been reported to design polymer electron acceptors using B←N unit.One is to replace a C-C unit by a B←N unit in conjugated polymers to transform a polymer electron donor to a polymer electron acceptor.The other approach is to construct novel electron-deficient building block based on B←N unit for polymer electron acceptors.The polymer electron acceptors containing B←N unit showed tunable lowest unoccupied molecular orbital(LUMO) energy levels and exhibited excellent all-PSC device performance with power conversion efficiency of exceeding6%.These results indicate that organic boron chemistry is a new toolbox to develop functional polymer materials for optoelectronic device applications.     

Synthesis of two-dimensional π-conjugated polymers pendent with benzothiadiazole and naphtho[1,2-c:5,6-c]bis[1,2,5]thiadiazole moieties for polymer solar cells

Four new 2D donor–acceptor conjugated polymers were designed and synthesized.These new polymers comprised fluorenealt-triphenylamine or carbazole-alt-triphenylamine as the backbones,and pendants with 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole(BT)or naphtho[1,2-c:5,6-c]bis[1,2,5]thiadiazole(NT)in a triphenylamine unit as the side groups.By changing the acceptor BT for a stronger electron-withdrawing unit of NT moiety in the side chain,the energy levels,absorption spectra,band gaps,and charge-transport abilities of the resultant polymers could be effectively tuned.Bulk heterojunction solar cells with these polymers as the electron donors and(6,6)-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester as the electron acceptor exhibited high open-circuit voltage(more than 0.8 e V).The power conversion efficiency can be improved from 1.37%to 3.52%by replacing the BT with an NT moiety,which indicates that introducing NT as the side-chain building block can be an effective strategy to construct efficient 2D conjugated polymers for PSCs.     

Modulating Bandgap and HOCO/LUCO Energy of Semiconducting Polymer by Copolymerization or Incorporation of Electron Withdrawing/Releasing Groups

The modulation of bandgap and HOCO/LUCO energies of conjugated polymers by copolymerization or by incorporation of electron withdrawing/releasing groups is studied.The study was conducted by band structure calculation applying density functional theory with generalized gradient approximation.The polymers and copolymers were modeled as 1D infinite system with periodical boundary condition along the molecular direction.It is concluded that the bandgap and HOCO/LUCO energies of conjugated polymers depend on both electron withdrawing/releasing effects and non-bonding interaction between a side group and the conjugated systems.     

Morphology controllable conjugated network polymers based on AIE-active building block for TNP detection

Luminescent conjugated network polymer is one of the most promising chemo-sensors owing to their good chemical/optical stability and multiple functionalization.Herein,three conjugated network polymers were prepared by using aggregation-induced emission active 1,1,2,2-tetrakis(4-formyl-(1,1'-biphenyl))-ethane(TFBE) unit as monomer and hydrazine as linker.Through regulating the synthetical condition,the polyme ric network can form either unifo rm two-dimensional azine-linked nanosheets(ANS),conjugated microporous polymers(A-CMP) or covalent organic frameworks(A-COF).All of these polymers exhibited good stability and high fluorescence quantum efficiency with the quantum yield of6.31% for A-NS,5.26% for A-CMP,and 5.80% for A-COF,as well as fast and selective fluorescence quenching response to 2,4,6-trinitrophenol(TNP).And the best TNP sensing performance with the Stern-Volmer constants(K_(sv)) values up to 8 × 10~5 L/mol and a detection limit of 0.09 μmol/L was obtained for A-NS.The study explores various strategies to construct conjugated polymers with different nanoarchitectures based on the same building block for sensitive detection of explosives.     

High-performance all-polymer solar cells enabled by a novel low bandgap non-fully conjugated polymer acceptor

The non-fully conjugated polymer as a new class of acceptor materials has shown some advantages over its small molecular counterpart when used in photoactive layers for all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs), despite a low power conversion efficiency(PCE)caused by its narrow absorption spectra. Herein, a novel non-fully conjugated polymer acceptor PFY-2 TS with a low bandgap of~1.40 eV was developed, via polymerizing a large π-fused small molecule acceptor(SMA) building block(namely YBO) with a nonconjugated thioalkyl linkage. Compared with its precursor YBO, PFY-2 TS retains a similar low bandgap but a higher LUMO level.Moreover, compared with the structural analog of YBO-based fully conjugated polymer acceptor PFY-DTC, PFY-2 TS shows a similar absorption spectrum and electron mobility, but significantly different molecular crystallinity and aggregation properties,which results in optimal blend morphology with a polymer donor PBDB-T and physical processes of the device in all-PSCs. As a result, PFY-2 TS-based all-PSCs achieved a PCE of 12.31% with a small energy loss of 0.56 eV enabled by the reduced non-radiative energy loss(0.24 eV), which is better than that of 11.08% for the PFY-DTC-based ones. Our work clearly demonstrated that non-fully conjugated polymers as a new class of acceptor materials are very promising for the development of high-performance all-PSCs.     

An Alternating Polymer of Two Building Blocks Based on B←N Unit:Non-fullerene Acceptor for Organic Photovoltaics

B←N coordination bond can be used to develop polymer electron acceptors for efficient all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs). Here, we report a new alternating conjugated polymer containing two building blocks based on B←N unit. The polymer exhibits strong light absorption in the visible range, low-lying LUMO/HOMO energy levels and moderate electron mobility. The resulting all-PSC devices exhibit power conversion efficiencies of 1.50%–2.47%.     

Meniscus-Assisted Solution Printing Enables Cocrystallization in Poly(3-alkylthiophene)-based Blends for Field-Effect Transistors

The formation of cocrystallization in two various conjugated components may endow the newly formed conjugated cocrystals with multiple functionalities and improved charge transport properties. However, compared to conjugated small molecules, this strategy is rather limitedly realized in conjugated polymers. Herein, a simple meniscus-assisted solution printing(MASP) strategy is utilized to achieve the cocrystallization in the blends of two conjugated polymers, i.e., poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT) a...     

Effect of furan π-bridge on the photovoltaic performance of D-A copolymers based on bi(alkylthio-thienyl)benzodithiophene and fluorobenzotriazole

The medium band gap donor-acceptor(D-A) copolymer J61 based on bi(alkylthio-thienyl)benzodithiophene as donor unit and fluorobenzotriazole as acceptor unit and thiophene as π-bridge has demonstrated excellent photovoltaic performance as donor material in nonfullerene polymer solar cells(PSCs) with narrow bandgap n-type organic semiconductor ITIC as acceptor.For studying the effect of π-bridges on the photovoltaic performance of the D-A copolymers,here we synthesized a new D-A copolymer J61-F based on the same donor and acceptor units as J61 but with furan π-bridges instead of thiophene.J61-F possesses a deeper the highest occupied molecular orbital(HOMO) level at-5.45 eV in comparison with that(-5.32 eV) of J61.The non-fullerene PSCs based on J61-F:ITIC exhibited a maximum power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 8.24%with a higher open-circuit voltage(V_(oc)) of 0.95 V,which is benefitted from the lower-lying HOMO energy level of J61-F donor material.The results indicate that main chain engineering by changing π-bridges is another effective way to tune the electronic energy levels of the conjugated D-A copolymers for the application as donor materials in non-fullerene PSCs.     

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF AROMATIC LIQUID CRYSTALLINE COPOLYESTERS WITH REGULAR SEQUENCE STRUCTURE

Several novel aromatic liquid crystalline copolyesters with regular sequence structure were prepared by melt Sehotten-Baumann polycondensation via complex monomer. Polarizing microscope with hot stage, thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the structure and properties of the copolyesters. The effects of structural units, such as flexible spacer, noncolinear meta-linked phenylene unit, crankshaft unit, kink with flexible bridging unit and various substituted benzene rings on melting temperature of aromatic copolyesters were studied and discussed on the basis of crystalline structure of the polymers.     

A novel conformationally adaptive macrocyclic tetramaleimide with flipping pyrene sidewalls

The synthesis, structure, and properties of pyrene-based conformationally adaptive macrocycles are described. This new type of conformationally adaptive macrocycle was constructed through Perkin reaction,followed by imidization. By changing the condensation partner as the linking unit, a family of conjugated macrocycles with different sizes of the cavity was synthesized, which provide a simple and modular synthetic strategy towards the conformationally adaptive macrocycles. Furthermore, the macr...     

Double-Cable Conjugated Polymers with Fullerene Pendant for Single-Component Organic Solar Cells

In this work, the “functionalization-polymerization”(FP) method has been used to construct fullerene-contained double-cable conjugated polymers with “donor-acceptor” backbones. It was realized via synthesizing a fullerene-contained monomer and performing Stille polymerization. With this method, a series of double-cable conjugated polymers with different fullerene contents were developed and applied into single-component organic solar cells. The power conversion efficiencies(PCEs) based on these ...     

FLUORENE-BASED LIGHT-EMITTING POLYMERS

Several series of fluorene-based light-emitting polymers with the emphasis on achieving efficient and stable bluelight emission are reported. Spiro-functionalization may narrow the emission spectra (with smaller tail at Ionger wavelengths)of fluorene homopolymers to provide purer blue emission. The thermal spectral stability of the polymers could also beimproved because of the elevation of the glass transition temperature caused by the spiro-functionalization. However, theexcimer emission in fluorene homopolymers is not suppressed by the spiro-functionalization. Alternate copolymers of 9,9-dihexylfluorene and substituted phenylenes may emit efficient blue ligh both in solution and in film. The optical propertiesare dependent on the substituion on the phenylene ring. The alkoxy-substituted polymers displayed efficient PL and EL andgood thermal spectral stability. The HOMO and LUMO energy levels of the polymers based on the backbone structure couldbe tuned in a wide range by attaching different functional groups on the phenylene ring. By attaching europium(III) complexat the ends of the side chains in the alternate copolymers, we have demonstrated a new approach to achieving red emissionwith a very narrow spectrum. The copolymers of 9,9-dihexylfluorene and thiophene and bithiophene with differentsubstitutions were also synthesized to study the effect of substitution and regioregularity on the optical and other physicalproperties of the polymers.     

Photo-polymerization of liquid crystalline monomer in oriented liquid crystal phase

<正>A new approach to synthesize liquid crystalline polymer with narrow polydispersity index(PDI) was developed.Photopolymerization of 4-cyanophenyl-4'-(6-acryloyloxyhexyloxy)benzoate(RM23) in nematic liquid crystals with macroscopic orientation was studied.The effects of the monomer concentration on the molecular weight and PDI of the resulting polymers were studied through gel permeation chromatography(GPC) and polarized optical microscopy.The low PDI of 1.19 and 1.22 was obtained in the reverse and normal modes,respectively.The PDI and molecular weight increased with monomer concentration.     

Hyper-crosslinked Conjugated Microporous Polymers with Increased Micropores Promotes Confining Polymerization for Electromagnetic Absorption Application

Conjugated microporous polymers have excellent skeleton structures but poor electrical conductivity limits their applications in microwave absorption. To solve this problem, a strategy of molecular expansion and confining polymerization is proposed in this work to synthesize conductive hyper-crosslinked conjugated microporous polymer. The topology of the conjugated microporous polymer is changed into a three-dimensional skeleton structure with high specific surface area by using molecular expans...     

Polythiophene-block-poly(phenyl isocyanide) copolymers: One-pot synthesis,properties and applications

Conjugated block copolymers have gained increasing interests in recent years. Development of a novel method for facile synthesis of conjugated block copolymers with desired structures and functions is greatly desired. In this mini review, we summarized the recent advances in one-pot synthesis of conjugated block copolymers containing π-conjugated polythiophene and helical polyisocyanide segments by using a nickel(Ⅱ) complex as single catalyst. The sequential living polymerization of the two monomers proceeded in a controlled manner, affording expected block copolymers in high yields with controlled molecular weights(Mns) and narrow molecular weight distributions(Mw/Mns). By using this method, a family of block copolymers with expected structure and tunable compositions can be facilely prepared. Introducing functional groups onto the pendant, these block copolymers can exhibit interesting self-assembly property, tunable light emission and multi-responsiveness.     

Studies on Novel Polymer Materials Prepared through Intermacromolecular Complexation

The basic feature of polymers is their multi-order structure. Structure change at each level offers a possibility to modify polymer properties and to develop new polymer materials. Therefore, novel polymer materials can be developed by tailoring their chain structure through chemical bonding among atoms, i.e., via the traditional molecular chemistry methods, e.g., polymerization of new monomer, controlling chain length (molecular weight and molecular weight distribution) and stereoregularity, …     

PREPARATION AND PROPERTIES OF SILICONE-ACRYLATE COPOLYMER LATEX

Silicone-acrylate copolymer latex was prepared through three different polymerization processes, i.e., the batch process, preemulsified monomer addition and the monomer addition process. The results revealed that the monomer addition process is a desirable approach to produce narrow particle size distribution latex with higher polymerization conversion and less amount of coagulum. The effect of silicone content on the glossiness and water absorption of latex film was investigated and the results showed that the glossiness of latex film is improved up to a silicone content of 10% of total monomers, but becomes impaired thereafter, whereas water absorption is reduced accordingly.     

Block copolymer electrolyte with adjustable functional units for solid polymer lithium metal battery

Solid polymer electrolytes have been considered as the promising candidates to improve the safety and stability of high-energy lithium metal batteries.However,the practical applications of solid polymer electrolytes are still limited by the low ionic conductivity,poor interfacial contact with electrodes,narrow electrochemical window and weak mechanical strength.Here,a series of novel block copolymer electrolytes with three-dimensional networks are designed by cross-linked copolymerization of the polyethylene glycol soft segments and hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer hard segments.Their ionic migration performances and interface compatibilities with Li metal anode have been optimized delicately by tailoring the ratio of these functional units.The optimized block copolymer electrolyte has shown an amorphous crystalline structure,a high ionic conductivity of ~5.7×10^-4S cm^-1,high lithium ion transference number(~0.49),wide electrochemical window up to ~4.65 V(vs.Li+/Li) and favorable mechanical strength at 55℃.Furthermore,the enhanced interface compatibility can well support the normal operations of lithium metal batteries using both LiFePO4 and LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 cathodes.This study not only paves a new way to develop solid polymer electrolyte with optimizing functional units,but also provides a polymer electrolyte design strategy for the application demand of lithium metal battery.