Yellow‐light‐emitting cyano‐substituted poly[(1,3‐phenylene vinylene)‐alt‐(1,4‐phenylene vinylene)] derivative: Its synthesis and optical properties

A soluble cyano‐substituted poly[(1,3‐phenylene vinylene)‐alt‐(1,4‐phenylene vinylene)] derivative ( 9 ) was synthesized and characterized. Comparison between 9 and its model compound ( 10 ) showed that the chromophore in 9 remained to be well defined as a result of a π‐conjugation interruption at adjacent m‐phenylene units. The attachment of a cyano substituent only at the β position of the vinylene allowed the maximum electronic impact of the cyano group on the optical properties of the poly(p‐phenylene vinylene) material. At a low temperature (?108 or ?198 °C), the vibronic structures of 9 and 10 were partially resolved. The absorption and emission spectra of a film of 9 were less temperature‐dependent than those of a film of 10 , indicating that the former had a lower tendency to aggregate. A light‐emitting diode (LED) based on 9 emitted yellow light (λ_max ≈ 578 nm) with an external quantum efficiency of 0.03%. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3149–3158, 2003     

Reply to Nathan: How to reconstruct the causal argument

Nicholas Nathan tries to resist the current version of the causal argument for sense-data in two ways. First he suggests that, on what he considers to be the correct re-construction of the argument, it equivocates on the sense of proximate cause. Second he defends a form of disjunctivism, by claiming that there might be an extra mechanism involved in producing veridical hallucination, that is not present in perception. I argue that Nathan’s reconstruction of the argument is not the appropriate one, and that, properly interpreted, the argument does not equivocate on proximate cause. Furthermore, I claim that his postulation of a modified mechanism for hallucinations is implausibly ad hoc.     

Synthesis and characterization of white‐light‐emitting polyfluorenes containing orange phosphorescent moieties in the side chain

Two orange phosphorescent iridium complex monomers, 9‐hexyl‐9‐(iridium (III)bis(2‐(4′‐fluorophenyl)‐4‐phenylquinoline‐N,C^2′)(tetradecanedionate‐11,13))‐2,7‐dibromofluorene (Br‐PIr) and 9‐hexyl‐9‐(iridium(III)bis(2‐(4′‐fluorophenyl)‐4‐methylquinoline‐N,C^2′)(tetradecanedionate‐11,13))‐2,7‐dibromofluorene (Br‐MIr), were successfully synthesized. The Suzuki polycondensation of 2,7‐bis(trimethylene boronate)‐9,9‐dioctylfluorene with 2,7‐dibromo‐9,9‐dioctylfluorene and Br‐PIr or Br‐MIr afforded two series of copolymers, PIrPFs and MIrPFs, in good yields, in which the concentrations of the phosphorescent moieties were kept small (0.5–3 mol % feed ratio) to realize incomplete energy transfer. The photoluminescence (PL) of the copolymers showed blue‐ and orange‐emission peaks. A white‐light‐emitting diode with a configuration of indium tin oxide/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)/PIr05PF (0.5 mol % feed ratio of Br‐PIr)/Ca/Al exhibited a luminous efficiency of 4.49 cd/A and a power efficiency of 2.35 lm/W at 6.0 V with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.46, 0.33). The CIE coordinates were improved to (0.34, 0.33) when copolymer MIr10PF (1.0 mol % feed ratio of Br‐MIr) was employed as the white‐emissive layer. The strong orange emission in the electroluminescence spectra in comparison with PL for these kinds of polymers was attributed to the additional contribution of charge trapping in the phosphorescent dopants. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. JPolym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1746–1757, 2007     

Pit your wits against young minds!

This column is a place for those bits of contagious mathematics that travel from person to person in the community, because they are so elegant, suprising, or appealing that one has an urge to pass them on. Contributions are most welcome.