Blue-luminescent poly(p-phenylenevinylene) derivatives: Synthesis and effect of side-group size on the optical properties

New conjugated polymers based on separated PPV-type chromophores and incorporating different types of solubilizing side-groups (ethoxy: P1, hexyloxy: P2, dodecyloxy: P3 and benzyloxy: P4) were synthesized via Wittig polycondensation, using a series of bisphenol A-derived di(triphenylphosphonium) salts as starting monomers. The polymers are soluble in common organic solvents and their structures were confirmed by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and FTIR spectroscopies. The optical properties of these materials were investigated by UV–vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies. In dilute solution, quasi-identical fluorescence spectra were obtained and all the polymers showed a blue emission (420, 445 nm) and a narrow spectrum. In thin solid films, the polymers show side-group-dependent optical behavior and, whereas the emission remains blue in the case of P2, P3 and P4, a green fluorescence was observed for the ethoxylated polymer P1. From cyclic voltammetry analysis, the electrochemical band gaps were estimated to be 2.99, 3.07, 3.15 and 3.06 eV for P1, P2, P3 and P4, respectively. Single-layer diode devices of the [indium tin oxide/polymer/aluminum] configuration have been fabricated and show relatively low turn-on voltages between 2.6 and 4.9 V.     

Preparation and characterization of the soluble NLO polyarylates with enhanced electro-optic properties

Three novel nonlinear optical polyarylate polymers were prepared containing one main-chain polymer (mPAR-chr1) and two side-chain polymers (sPAR-chr1, sPAR-chr2) with different kinds of chromophores. The obtained polymers were characterized and evaluated by UV-Vis, ¹H NMR, DSC and TGA. All the polymers exhibited excellent thermal stability, film forming ability and good electro-optic (EO) activity. The relationship between EO coefficients (r ₃₃) and the chromophore concentration of the three polymers had been also characterized and discussed. There were no obvious differences found in EO activity between main-chain and side-chain polyarylates with the same chromophore (chr1). Due to the stronger electron-withdrawing tricyanopyrroline acceptor and the steric effect of the large dendritic groups of chromophore 2 (chr2), polymer sPAR-chr2 showed the largest EO cofficients (64 pm V^?1) in these new polymers.     

Synthesis of polymers containing 1,2,4‐oxadiazole as an electron‐acceptor moiety in their main chain and their solar cell applications

To explore the aptitude of 1,2,4‐oxadiazole‐based electron‐acceptor unit in polymer solar cell applications, we prepared four new polymers (P1–P4) containing 1,2,4‐oxadiazole moiety in their main chain and applied them to solar cell applications. Thermal, optical, and electrochemical properties of the polymers were studied using thermogravimetric, absorption, and cyclic voltammetry analysis, respectively. All four polymers showed high thermal stability (5% degradation temperature over 335 °C), and the optical band gaps were calculated to be 2.20, 1.72, 1.37, and 1.74 eV, respectively, from the onset wavelength of the film‐state absorption band. The energy levels of the polymers were found to be suitable for bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cell applications. The BHJ solar cells were prepared by using the synthesized polymers as a donor and PC₇₁BM as an electron acceptor with the configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer:PC₇₁BM (1:3 wt %)/LiF/Al. One of the polymers was found to show the maximum power conversion efficiency of 1.33% with a Jsc of 4.95 mA/cm², a V_oc of 0.68 V, and a FF of 40%, measured using AM 1.5 G solar simulator at 100 mW/cm₂ light illumination. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Synthesis and characterization of highly stable blue‐light‐emitting hyperbranched conjugated polymers

Polyfluorene homopolymer ( P1 ) and its carbazole derivatives ( P2 – P4 ) have been prepared with good yield by Suzuki coupling polymerization. P2 is an alternating copolymer based on fluorene and carbazole; P3 is a hyperbranched polymer with carbazole derivative as the core and polyfluorene as the long arms; P4 is a hyperbranched polymer with carbazole derivative as the core and the alternating fluorene and carbazole as the long arms. These polymers show highly thermal stability, and their structures and physical properties are studied using gel permeation chromatography, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, UV–vis absorption, photoluminescence, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The influence of the incorporation of carbazole and the hyperbranched structures on the thermal, electrochemical, and electroluminescent properties has been investigated. Both carbazole addition and the hyperbranched structure increase the thermal and photoluminescent stability. The CV shows an increase of the HOMO energy levels for the derivatives, compared with polyfluorene homopolymer ( P1 ). The EL devices fabricated by these polymers exhibit pure blue‐light‐emitting with negligible low‐energy emission bands, indicating that the hyperbranched structure has a strong effect on the PLED characteristics. The results imply that incorporating carbazole into polyfluorene to form a hyperbranched structure is an efficient way to obtain highly stable blue‐light‐emitting conjugated polymers, and it is possible to adjust the property of light‐emitting polymers by the amount of carbazole derivative incorporated into the polymers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 790–802, 2008     

Two novel triphenylamine-substituted poly(p-phenylenevinylene) derivatives: synthesis, photo- and electroluminescent properties

Two novel triphenylamine-substituted poly(p-phenylenevinylene) derivatives, P1 and P2, have been successfully synthesized through the Witting-Horner reaction. The structures and properties of the monomers and the resulting polymers were characterized by using ¹H NMR, FT-IR, GPC, TGA, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electroluminescence (EL) spectroscopy. The obtained polymers exhibited good thermal stability and high photoluminescence quantum yield (0.42-0.90). The polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) with the configuration of ITO/PEDOT/polymers/Ca/Al were fabricated. The single-layer device based on P1 and P2 emitted stable blue and yellow light with the turn-on voltage of 4 and 6 V, respectively. The maximum luminance of 3003 cd/m² at 10 V was obtained for device P2.     

Synthesis and characterization of polymer electrolytes based on cross‐linked phenoxy‐containing polyphosphazenes

A new method to prepare the polymer electrolytes for lithium‐ion batteries is proposed. The polymer electrolytes were prepared by reacting poly(phosphazene)s (MEEPP) having 2‐(2‐methoxyethoxy)ethoxy and 2‐(phenoxy)ethoxy units with 2,4,6‐tris[bis(methoxymethyl)amino]‐1,3,5‐triazine (CYMEL) as a cross‐linking agent. This method is simple and reliable for controlling the cross‐linking extent, thereby providing a straightforward way to produce a flexible polymer electrolyte membrane. The 6 mol % cross‐linked polymer electrolyte (ethylene oxide unit (EO)/Li = 24:1) exhibited a maximum ionic conductivity of 5.36 × 10^?5 S cm^?1 at 100 °C. The ⁷Li linewidths of solid‐state static NMR showed that the ionic conductivity was strongly related to polymer segment motion. Moreover, the electrochemical stability of the MEEPP polymer electrolytes increased with an increasing extent of cross‐linking, the highest oxidation voltage of which reached as high as 7.0 V. Moreover, phenoxy‐containing polyphosphazenes are very useful model polymers to study the relationship between the polymer flexibility; that is, the cross‐linking extent and the mobility of metal ions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 352–358     

Synthesis and properties of new orange red light‐emitting hyperbranched and linear polymers derived from 3,5‐dicyano‐2,4,6‐tristyrylpyridine

Two new orange red light‐emitting hyperbranched and linear polymers, poly(pyridine phenylene)s P1 and P2, were prepared by the Heck coupling reaction. In particular, an A₂ + B₃ approach was developed to synthesize conjugated hyperbranched polymer P2 via one‐pot polycondensation. The polymers were characterized by NMR, Fourier transform infrared, ultraviolet–visible, and elemental analysis. They showed excellent solubility in common solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, CH₂Cl₂, CHCl₃, and N,N‐dimethylformamide and had high molecular weights (up to 6.1 × 10⁵ and 5.8 × 10⁵). Cyclic voltammetry studies revealed that P2 had a low‐lying lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy level of ?3.22 eV and a highest occupied molecular orbital energy level of ?5.43 eV. The thin film of P2 emitted strong orange‐red photoluminescence at 595 nm. A double‐layer light‐emitting diode fabricated with the configuration of indium tin oxide/P2/tris(8‐hydroxy‐quinoline)aluminum/Al emitted orange‐red light at 599 nm, with a brightness of 662 cd/m² at 7 V and a turn‐on voltage of 4.0 V; its external quantum efficiency was calculated to be 0.19% at 130.61 mA/cm². This indicated that this new electroluminescent polymer (P2) based on 3,5‐dicyano‐2,4,6‐tristyrylpyridine could possibly be used as an orange‐red emitter in polymer light‐emitting displays. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 493–504, 2005     

Adsorption isotherms of a molecular imprinted polymer prepared in the presence of a polymerisable template: Indirect evidence of the formation of template clusters in the binding site

The current opinion about molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) is that their molecular recognition properties are due to the presence of nanocavities formed during a polymerization process developed in the presence of a template molecule. According to this principle, the shape of these nanocavities is complementary to that of the template and non-covalent interactions are established between the binding site and a single template molecule. Nevertheless, there are some experimental indications that the real molecular recognition mechanism involves clusters of template molecules being packed into the binding site. Recently, it has been proposed that template molecules covalently linked to the binding site can act as nucleation points, enhancing the formation of these molecular clusters.We have tested this hypothesis by studying the adsorption isotherms of polymers prepared by imprinting them with 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T). Three different polymers were considered: P0, prepared without the template, P1, whose template was represented by 2,4,5-T molecules, and P2, whose template was 1/3 constituted by the polymerisable 2-(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetoxy)-ethylmethacrylate (2,4,5-TEMA) and 2/3 by 2,4,5-T. The polymers were prepared by thermoinduced polymerization of template mixtures, 4-vinylpyridine and ethylene dimethacrylate. The crushed polymers were packed into HPLC columns and frontal chromatographic runs were performed by eluting the columns with a mobile phase containing variable amounts of 2,4,5-T.The experimental adsorption isotherms were fitted by using several isotherm models, and the Freundlich-Langmuir model was found to give the best fitting in terms of F-test. All the models considered showed a significant difference between the affinity constant values measured for the polymer P1 and P2, with a higher value for the polymer P2 (for Freundlich-Langmuir model: polymer P1, k=(2.00±0.43)×10⁴ M⁻¹; polymer P2, k=(1.93±0.0535)×10⁵ M⁻¹; ratio P2/P1, 9.65±2.09). Such experimental results support the hypothesis that a polymer prepared with a limited amount of template covalently attached to the binding site shows an increased affinity for the template itself.     

Synthesis,characterization, and electroluminescence of fluorene and carbazole‐based blue light‐emitting polymers with different noncoplanar molecular architectures

In order to investigate the explicit optoelectronic variations of the photoluminescent polymer with sterically hindered side chains, three novel alternate polymers (P0, P1, and P2) based on fluorene and carbazole moieties were successfully synthesized through Suzuki coupling reaction. The molecular structures of the polymers were fully characterized by ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, elemental analysis, and gel permeation chromatograph, respectively. The photophysical properties, thermal stability, and energy band gaps of polymers P0, P1, and P2 were further examined through UV–vis absorption, photoluminescent spectra, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and cyclic voltammetry. The experimental results indicated that the polymers took on wide band gaps of about 3.50 eV with deep blue emission in thin solid films. These polymers were found to show a high thermal stability with decomposition temperatures at 5% weight loss of the compounds in the range of 353–416 °C. Blue light‐emitting electroluminescent devices of the most branched polymer P2 with highest light‐emitting efficiency as emitting layers were characterized, which showed obviously improved spectral stabilities with respect to the parent polyfluorene materials. In conclusion, we have established an effective method to improve the spectral stabilities of polyfluorene material by synthesizing the zigzag‐shaped copolymer of fluorene and carbazole with sterically hindered pendant moieties of different molecular sizes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrochemical Treatment for Effectively Tuning Thermoelectric Properties of Free‐Standing Poly(3‐methylthiophene) Films

The degree of oxidation of conducting polymers has great influence on their thermoelectric properties. Free‐standing poly(3‐methylthiophene) (P3MeT) films were prepared by electrochemical polymerization in boron trifluoride diethyl etherate, and the fresh films were treated electrochemically with a solution of propylene carbonate/lithium perchlorate as mediator. The conductivity of the resultant P3MeT films depends on the doping level, which is controlled by a constant potential from ?0.5 to 1.4 V. The optimum electrical conductivity (78.9 S cm^?1 at 0.5 V) and a significant increase in the Seebeck coefficient (64.3 μV K^?1 at ?0.5 V) are important for achieving an optimum power factor at an optimal potential. The power factor of electrochemically treated P3MeT films reached its maximum value of 4.03 μW m^?1 K^?2 at 0.5 V. Moreover, after two months, it still exhibited a value of 3.75 μW m^?1 K^?2, and thus was more stable than pristine P3MeT due to exchange of doping ions in films under ambient conditions. This electrochemical treatment is a significant alternative method for optimizing the thermoelectric power factor of conducting polymer films.     

Synthesis and properties of nitrogen‐linked poly(2,7‐carbazole)s as hole‐transport material for organic light emitting diodes

A novel class of carbazole polymers, nitrogen‐linked poly(2,7‐carbazole)s, was synthesized by polycondensation between two bifunctional monomers using the palladium‐catalyzed amination reaction. The polymers were characterized by ¹H NMR, Infrared, Gel permeation chromatography, and MALDI‐TOF MS and it was revealed that the combination of the monomer structures is important for producing high molecular weight polymers. Thermal analysis indicated a good thermal stability with high glass transition temperatures, e.g., 138 °C for the higher molecular weight polymer P2 . To pursue the application possibilities of these polymers, their optical properties and energy levels were investigated by UV‐Vis absorption and fluorescence spectra as well as their electrochemical characteristics. Although the blue light emission was indeed observed for all polymers in solution, the quantum yields were very low and the solid films were not fluorescent. On the other hand, the HOMO levels of the polymers estimated from the onset potentials for the first oxidation in the solid thin films were relatively high in the range of ?5.12 to ?5.20 eV. Therefore, light emitting diodes employing these polymers as a hole‐transport layer and iridium(III) complex as a triplet emitter were fabricated. The device of the nitrogen‐linked poly(2,7‐carbazole) P3 with p,p′‐biphenyl spacer, which has a higher HOMO level and a higher molecular weight, showed a much better performance than the device of P2 with m‐phenylene spacer. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3880–3891, 2009     

一种新型二阶非线性光学功能分子及其交联聚氨酯材料的合成

合成了新型的含有偶氮和噻吩环的二阶非线性光学功能分子, 用红外光谱、紫外光谱、核磁共振和质谱确定了其结构; 制备了含有该功能分子的两种交联型聚氨酯聚合物薄膜, 当测量波长为1 064 nm时,  用Marker条纹法测得的二阶非线性光学系数d33值分别为80.6 pm/V(发色团的数密度为0.91×1020 Molecules/cm3)和20.1 pm/V(发色团的数密度为2.21×1020 Molecules/cm3); 聚合物Ⅱ的取向热稳定性达到了152 ℃.     

编织芳基网络聚合物负载Rh催化剂上高碳烯烃氢甲酰化反应性能

考察了编织芳基网络聚合物（KAPs）负载的Rh催化剂（Rh/KAPs）在高碳烯烃氢甲酰化反应中的催化性能. 结果表明,三苯基膦-苯基底KAPs负载Rh催化剂（Rh/KAPs-1）具有优异的高碳烯烃氢甲酰化反应活性,产物醛收率显著高于Rh/SiO₂催化剂. 傅里叶变换红外光谱、热重、氮气吸附-脱附、X射线衍射、透射电子显微镜、¹³C核磁共振和³¹P核磁共振结果显示,Rh/KAPs-1催化剂具有优异的热稳定性及大的比表面积和多级孔道结构,Rh颗粒处于高度分散状态,并可在反应过程中形成均相催化活性物种.     

Oil-in-gold nanoparticle solution emulsion stabilized with amphiphilic polymers and its stability under NIR irradiation

Oil-in-water emulsions were prepared by emulsifying mineral oil in gold nanoparticle (GNP) solution using amphiphilic polymers as an emulsifier. Poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) (PHEA) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate-co-propyl methacryate) (P(HEA/PMA)) having different PMA contents (2.98%, 3.29%, 6.1%, and 8.59% (mole/mole)) were prepared by a free radical polymerization, confirmed by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. According to the optical density change of the polymer solution (2% (w/v)) at 20°C–80°C, only P(HEA/PMA) having a PMA content of 3.29 mole % showed its lower solution critical temperature around 31°C. The air/water interfacial activity of the amphiphilic polymers was higher as the PMA content was higher. GNP was prepared by reducing gold ions in water. The mean hydrodynamic diameter was 22.2?nm and it appeared sphere-like on TEM photo. The emulsion prepared using PHEA maintained its stability above 80% for 190 hours, whereas it was destabilized rapidly upon 60 minutes of near-infrared (NIR) irradiation and its stability decreased to below 20% in 20 hours. As the PMA content was higher, the stability of the emulsions prepared using P(HEA/PMA) became lower and NIR irradiation accelerated the destabilization more effectively.     

Structural characterization of hydroxyl terminated polyepichlorohydrin obtained using boron trifluoride etherate and stannic chloride as initiators

Epichlorohydrin was polymerized using boron trifluoride etherate or stannic chloride as initiators in presence of diols. The molecular weight of the polymer increased with increase in the ratio of epichlorohydrin to the diol in the reaction mixture. The polymers were characterized by IR, proton NMR and ¹³C NMR analysis. The terminal hydroxyl groups of the polymers were characterized by derivatizing them using trifluoro acetic anhydride and analyzing the resulting ester by NMR. Both primary and secondary hydroxyls were present in the polymer. The primary hydroxyl terminals of the polyepichlorohydrin (PECH) prepared using stannic chloride initiator were twice the amount of that present in the polymer prepared using BF₃ etherate initiator. The ¹³C NMR spectrum of PECH prepared using BF₃ etherate indicates that the polymer backbone is rich in H-T diad. Both cationic and co-ordination mechanisms operate during the polymerization in the presence of SnCl₄ and the ¹³C NMR spectrum of the polymer showed more of T-T and H-H sequences.     

Anion receptor-coated separator for lithium-ion polymer battery

Anion receptor-coated separators were prepared by coating poly(ethylene glycol) borate ester (PEGB) as an anion receptor and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) as a good adhesive material towards electrodes onto microporous polyethylene (PE) separators. Gel polymer electrolytes were fabricated by soaking them in an liquid electrolyte, 1 M LiPF₆ in EC/DEC/PC (30/65/5, wt.%). As the weight ratio of PEGB to PVAc in a coating layer increased, gel polymer electrolytes showed higher cationic conductivity and electrochemical stability. The cationic conductivity and electrochemical stability of the gel polymer electrolyte based on coated separator with PVAc/PEGB (2/5, weight ratio) could reach 2.8 × 10^–4 S cm^–1 and 4.8 V, respectively. Lithium-ion polymer cells (LiCoO₂/graphite) based on gel polymer electrolytes with and without PEGB were assembled, and their electrochemical performances were evaluated.     

Characterization and properties of ternary P(VdF-HFP)-LiTFSI-EMITFSI ionic liquid polymer electrolytes

Gel polymer electrolytes containing 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium-bis (trifluoromethyl-sulfnyl)imide (EMITFSI) ionic liquid were prepared for lithium ion batteries by solution casting method. Thermal and electrochemical properties have been determined for the gel polymer electrolytes. Proper addition of EMITFSI to the P(VdF-HFP)-LiTFSI polymer electrolyte improves the ionic conductivity and electrochemical window to 2.11 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ (30 °C) and 4.6 V. In combination of the prepared ternary P(VdF-HFP)-LiTFSI-EMITFSI ionic liquid polymer electrolytes, Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ anode exhibited two extra voltage plateaus around 1.1 V and 2.3 V except the typical voltage plateau around 1.6 V by possible side reaction between ionic liquid and polymer. LiFePO₄ cathode exhibited high capacity above 140 mA h g⁻¹ and retention of 93.1% due to the suppressed polarization effect caused by enhanced ion transport properties. The high temperature of 80 °C didn't have significant impact on the cycling performance.     

Synthesis and electrochromism of novel organosoluble polyarylates bearing triphenylamine moieties

A series of novel aromatic polyarylates with triphenylamine units in the main chain and as the pendent group were prepared from the dicarboxylic acid monomer, N,N‐bis(4‐carboxyphenyl)‐N′, N′‐diphenyl‐1,4‐phenylenediamine (1), and various bisphenols. These polyarylates were amorphous and readily soluble in common organic solvents. They had excellent levels of thermal stability associated with moderately high T_g values (182–263 °C). These polymers exhibited strong UV–vis absorption bands at 357–360 nm in toluene solution and the photoluminescence spectra showed maximum bands around 493–503 nm in the green region. The hole‐transporting and electrochromic properties were examined by electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical methods. Cyclic voltammograms of the polyarylates exhibited two reversible oxidation redox couples in acetonitrile solution at E_onset 0.77–0.79 V and 1.12–1.14 V, respectively. The typical polymer 3b film revealed good stability of electrochromic characteristics, with color change from colorless to green and blue at applied potentials ranging from 0.00 to 1.24 V. These anodically polymeric electrochromic materials not only showed excellent reversible electrochromic stability with good green coloration efficiency (CE = 159 cm²/C) and blue coloration efficiency (CE = 154 cm²/C) but also exhibited high contrast of optical transmittance change (ΔT%), 54% in 895 nm for green color and up to 84% in 595 nm for blue color. After over 100 cyclic switches, the polymer films still exhibited excellent stability of electrochromic characteristics. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 2004–2014, 2007     

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     

Low‐oxidation‐potential conducting polymers derived from 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene and dialkoxybenzenes

Monomers derived from 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene and phenylenes with branched or oligomeric ether dialkoxy substituents were prepared with the Negishi coupling technique. Electrooxidative polymerization led to the corresponding dialkoxy‐substituted 3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene–phenylene polymers, with extremely low oxidation potentials (E_1/2,p = ?0.16 to ?0.50 V vs Ag/Ag⁺) due to the highly electron‐rich nature of these materials. The polymers were electrochromic, reversibly switching from red to blue upon oxidation, with bandgaps at about 2 eV. The electrochemical behavior of the oligomeric ether‐substituted polymer was investigated in the presence of different metal ions. Films of the polymer exhibited electrochemical recognition for several alkali and alkaline‐earth cations with selectivity in the order Li⁺ > Ba²⁺ > Na⁺ > Mg²⁺. Cyclic voltammetry showed a decrease in the oxidation potential and an improvement in the definition of the voltammetric response, as well as an increase in the overall electroactivity of the polymer films when the concentration of the cations in the medium was increased. These results are discussed in terms of the electrostatic interactions between the complexed cation and the redox center, as well as the diffusion of the ionic species into the polymer matrix. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2164–2178, 2001