Electroluminescent polymers

Self-assembly of all-conjugated block copolymer nanoparticles with tailoring size and fluorescence for live cell imaging

Here, we describe aqueous nanoassemblies of rod–rod diblock polythiophene into core–shell nanospheres. Benefitting from their good photostability and low cytotoxicity, the nanoparticles meet the crucial requirements for cellular imaging and other biological applications.

Synthesis and AIE properties of PEG–PLA–PMPC based triblock amphiphilic biodegradable polymers

The synthesis of a novel AIE-active micelle based on living immortal polymerization of cyclic esters and a “click” reaction of azide functionalized TPE is described.

A new Salen-type azo-azomethine ligand and its Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes: Synthesis, spectral characterization, crystal structure and photoluminescence studies

A novel Salen-type azo-azomethine ligand H2agen, 2,2'-{ethane-1,2-diylbis[nitrilomethylylidene]}bis{4-[ethylphenyldiazenyl]phenol}, formed by the 1:2M condensation of ethane-1,2-diamine with 5-[(4-ethylphenyl)diazenyl]-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde and its nickel(II), copper(II), and zinc(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized by the spectroscopic and analytical methods. The UV-vis spectra of the ligand were investigated in three organic solvents (DMSO, DMF and CHCl3). The ligand shows two absorption bands assigned to π-π(∗) and n-π(∗) transitions in the solvents used. Cu(II), and Ni(II) are tetra-coordinate binding to two phenolic oxygens and two imine nitrogens in approximate square planar geometry. Zn(II) also coordinates using the same sites like other metals but gave tetragonal configuration. Molecular structure of the Cu(II) complex [Cu(agen)] was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. The X-ray data revealed that crystallographic imposed symmetry was absent for the complex molecule. In the structure, the Cu(II) ion is coordinated to two phenolate oxygen atoms and two imine nitrogen atoms of the azo-azomethine ligand with approximate square planar geometry. The ligand H2agen and its metal complexes exhibit strong blue emissions with irradiation. Fluorescence quantum yields and excited-state lifetimes for the ligand and its complexes were obtained. The H2agen ligand had a 35% quantum yield and a 3.27 ns excited-state lifetime. Complexation with metal ions caused reductions in intensities and quantum yields.

Spectroscopic [FT-IR and FT-Raman] and theoretical [UV-Visible and NMR] analysis on α-Methylstyrene by DFT calculations

In the present research work, the FT-IR, FT-Raman and (13)C and (1)H NMR spectra of the α-Methylstyrene were recorded. The observed fundamental frequencies in finger print as well as functional group regions were assigned according to their uniqueness region. The Gaussian computational calculations are carried out by HF and DFT (B3LYP and B3PW91) methods with 6-31++G(d,p) and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets and the corresponding results were tabulated. The impact of the presence of vinyl group in phenyl structure of the compound is investigated. The modified vibrational pattern of the molecule associated vinyl group was analyzed. Moreover, (13)C NMR and (1)H NMR were calculated by using the gauge independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method with B3LYP methods and the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set and their spectra were simulated and the chemical shifts linked to TMS were compared. A study on the electronic and optical properties; absorption wavelengths, excitation energy, dipole moment and frontier molecular orbital energies were carried out. The kubo gap of the present compound was calculated related to HOMO and LUMO energies which confirm the occurring of charge transformation between the base and ligand. Besides frontier molecular orbitals (FMO), molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) was performed. The NLO properties related to Polarizability and hyperpolarizability based on the finite-field approach were also discussed.

Donor-Acceptor Copolymers Based on Thermally Cleavable Indigo, Isoindigo, and DPP Units: Synthesis, Field Effect Transistors, and Polymer Solar Cells

A series of donor-acceptor type of π-conjugated copolymers based on tert-butoxycarbonyl (t-Boc) substituted indigo, isoindigo or diketopyrrolopyrrole as the acceptor unit and a benzodithiophene derivative as the donor unit was designed and synthesized. These copolymers can be readily dissolved in organic solvents and can produce uniform films by solution deposition. Thermal treatment of copolymer films at 200 °C for 10 min resulted in elimination of t-Boc side groups in nearly quantitative yield as suggested by thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The elimination of the bulky t-Boc side groups resulted in the emergence of N-H···O═C hydrogen bonding interactions by virtue of the lactam structures of the indigo, isoindigo and diketopyrrolopyrrole units. Of particular interests is the distinctly increased field-effect mobility of these copolymers after thermal treatment, which may arise from the enhanced coplanarity and intermolecular ordering of the indigo, isoindigo or diketopyrrolopyrrole units after elimination of the bulky t-Boc side groups. These results demonstrate that the incorporation of latent side groups provides a viable strategy to construct conjugated polymers that can attain more ordered intermolecular stacking by simple thermal treatments. On the other hand, despite the thermal cleavage of t-Boc groups can also lead to increased ordering of polymer chains when blending with [6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester, the photovoltaic performances of the resulting bulk heterojunction solar cells did not obviously increase due to the serious phase separation and coarsening of the film morphology.

Synthesis and Characterization of PPV Monomer for Subsequent Electropolymerization

Organic synthesis of the monomer of poly(p-phenylenevinylene) was performed starting by the 2,5-dimethylphenol compound. An iodine atom was added to one end of the aromatic ring and then the iodine atom was substituted by a cyano group. Opposite to the cyano group was added a chain of six carbon atoms and the end of the carbon chain has an added bromine atom. The characterizations of the obtained compounds were made by FTIR, GC-MS,1H, and13C NMR and showed that almost all of the proposed monomers were obtained in their totality.

Theoretical and experimental investigations on the photoconductivity and nonlinear optical properties of donor–acceptor π conjugated copolymer, poly(2,5-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene))

A new donor–acceptor copolymer, poly(2,5-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene) copolymer with high optical limiting efficiency (0.47 GW cm⁻²) and photoconductivity (at 75 V μm⁻¹, the photosensitivity was 289 742).

Oligoarylenes end-capped with carbazol-N-yl-carbazole as color tunable light-emitting and hole-transporting materials for solution-processed OLEDs

A series of oligoarylenes (CAr) exhibited blue to red fluorescence with hole-transporting properties. Simple structured solution-processed CAr-based OLEDs emitted stable colors spanning the visible spectrum and white light with luminance efficiencies up to 13.73 cd A⁻¹.

Excited-state intramolecular hydrogen bonding of compounds based on 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3-benzoxazole in solution: a TDDFT study

The excited-state properties of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in the compounds based on 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3-benzoxazole (6 and its tautomers 6a and 6b) have been investigated using theoretical methods. According to the geometric optimization and IR spectra in the ground and excited states calculated by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) methods respectively, the type of intramolecular hydrogen bonding N⋯HO in 6 and 6a is demonstrated to be significantly strengthened, while NH⋯O in the tautomers 6a and 6b are proved to be sharply weakened upon excitation to excited state S1. The calculated absorption peaks of 6 are in good accordance with the experimental results. Moreover, other compounds based on 6 that R1 and R2 are both substituted as well as that only R1 is substituted are investigated to understand the effect of substituent on intramolecular hydrogen bonding. It is found that the hydrogen bond strength can be controlled by the inductive field effect of the substituent. In addition, the intramolecular charge transfers (ICT) of the S1 state for 6 and its tautomers 6a and 6b were theoretically investigated by analyses of molecular orbital.

π-Conjugated polymer anisotropic organogel nanofibrous assemblies for thermoresponsive photonic switches

The present work demonstrates one of the first examples of π-conjugated photonic switches (or photonic wave plates) based on the tailor-made π-conjugated polymer anisotropic organogel. New semicrystalline segmented π-conjugated polymers are designed with rigid aromatic oligophenylenevinylene π-core and flexible alkyl chain along the polymer backbone. These polymers are found to be self-assembled as semicrystalline or amorphous with respect to the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl units. These semicrystalline polymers produce organogels having nanofibrous morphology of 20 nm thickness with length up to 5 μm. The polymer organogel is aligned in a narrow glass capillary, and this anisotropic gel device is further demonstrated as photonic switches. The glass capillary device behaves as typical λ/4 photonic wave plates upon the illumination of the plane polarized light. The λ/4 photonic switching ability is found to be maximum at θ = 45° angle under the cross polarizers. The orthogonal arrangements of the gel capillaries produce dark and bright spots as on-and-off optical switches. Thermoreversibility of the polymer organogel (also its xerogel) was exploited to construct thermoresponsive photonic switches for the temperature window starting from 25 to 160 °C. The organic photonic switch concept can be adapted to large number of other π-conjugated materials for optical communication and storage.