Synthesis of n-Type Poly(benzotriazole)s Having p-Conducting and Polymerizable Carbazole Pendants

Light Directs Monomer Coordination in Catalyst-Free Grignard Photopolymerization

π-Conjugated polymers can serve as active layers in flexible and lightweight electronics and are conventionally synthesized by transition-metal-mediated polycondensation at elevated temperatures. We recently reported a photopolymerization of electron-deficient heteroaryl Grignard monomers that enables the catalyst-free synthesis of n-type π-conjugated polymers. Herein, we describe an experimental and computational investigation into the mechanism of this photopolymerization. Spectroscopic studies performed in situ and after quenching reveal that the propagating chain is a radical anion with halide end groups. DFT calculations for model oligomers suggest a Mg-templated S_RN1-type coupling, in which Grignard monomer coordination to the radical anion chain avoids the formation of free sp² radicals and allows C-C bond formation with very low barriers. We find that light plays an unusual role in the reaction, photoexciting the radical anion chain to shift electron density to the termini and thus enabling productive monomer binding.

Effect of thiophene linker addition to fluorene-benzotriazole polymers with the purpose of achieving white emission in OLEDs

With the purpose of obtaining white emission from single layer organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), fluorene benzotriazole based polymers with double bond subunits (namely TP2 and SP3 with and without thiophene linker, respectively) were synthesized by a Suzuki cross-coupling polymerization reaction. SP3 and TP2 were used as an emissive layer of the OLED devices due to their outstanding solubility in organic solvents, photoluminescence intensity and morphological suitability for fine thin film-forming capability. The optical, electrochemical, light emission and electroluminescence characteristics, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations and admittance spectroscopic analysis of OLEDs based on SP3 and TP2 were realized in detail to understand the effects of thiophene linker addition as a donor unit to the main chain of fluorene benzotriazole based polymers. As a result, TP2 emitted a bright yellow emission with a maximum brightness of 243 cd m-2 at 40 mA cm-2, and a maximum current efficiency of 1.38 cd A-1 with more broad electroluminescence characteristics than SP3 polymer without the thiophene linker. SP3 emitted a greenish yellow emission with a maximum brightness of 1001 cd m-2 at 845 mA cm-2, and a maximum current efficiency of 0.33 cd A-1. Carrier transport properties, charge carrier transit time and the equivalent circuit modelling studies were obtained through admittance spectroscopy. An equivalent circuit model with a combination of two resistors and one capacitor explained the charge conduction mechanism of SP3 and TP2 based OLEDs. SP3 and TP2 OLED devices represented typical p-type transporting characteristics with mobilities of 0.073 and 0.017 cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively with simplified device configuration. All the results indicate that thiophene addition to the main chain of fluorene benzotriazole based polymers with double bond subunits lead to a promising candidate for white emissive materials used in single layer white OLEDs.

Precise Side-Chain Engineering of Thienylenevinylene-Benzotriazole-Based Conjugated Polymers with Coplanar Backbone for Organic Field Effect Transistors and CMOS-like Inverters

Two donor-acceptor (D-A) alternating conjugated polymers based on thienylenevinylene-benzotriazole (TV-BTz), PTV6B with a linear side chain and PTVEhB with a branched side chain, were synthesized and characterized for organic field effect transistors (OFETs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-like inverters. According to density functional theory (DFT), polymers based on TV-BTz exhibit a coplanar and rigid structure with no significant twists, which could cause to an increase in charge-carrier mobility in OFETs. Alternating alkyl side chains of the polymers impacted neither the band gap nor the energy level. However, it significantly affected the morphology and crystallinity when the polymer films were thermally annealed. To investigate the effect of thermal annealing on the morphology and crystallinity, we characterized the polymer films using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and 2D-grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (2D-GIWAXD). Fibrillary morphologies with larger domains and increased crystallinity were observed in the polymer films after thermal annealing. These polymers exhibited improved charge-carrier mobilities in annealed films at 200 °C and demonstrated optimal OFET device performance with p-type transport characteristics with charge-carrier mobilities of 1.51 cm²/(V s) (PTV6B) and 2.58 cm²/(V s) (PTVEhB). Furthermore, CMOS-like inorganic (ZnO)-organic (PTVEhB) hybrid bilayer inverter showed that the inverting voltage (V_inv) was positioned near the ideal switching point at half (1/2) of supplied voltage (V_DD) due to fairly balanced p- and n-channels.

Low-Band-Gap BODIPY Conjugated Copolymers for Sensing Volatile Organic Compounds

Conjugated polymers with strong photophysical properties are used in many applications. A homopolymer (P1) and five new low band gap copolymers based on 4,4'-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY) and acceptors 3,6-dithienyldiketopyrrolopyrrole (P2), phthalimide (P3), benzotriazole (P4), 4,7-dithienyl[1,2,3]triazolo[4,5g]quinoxaline (P5), and 2,5-dithienylthieno[3,4-b]pyrazine (P6) were prepared by means of Sonogashira polymerization. The characterization of polymers by using (1) H NMR, absorption, and emission spectroscopy is discussed. All polymers with high molecular weights (Mn ) of 16 000 to 89 000 g mol(-1) showed absorption maxima in the deep-red region (λ=630-760 nm) in solution and exhibited significant redshifts (up to 70 nm) in thin films. Polymers P2, P5, and P6 showed narrow optical band gaps of 1.38, 1.35, and 1.38 eV, respectively, which are significantly lower than that of P1 (1.63 eV). The HOMO and LUMO energy levels of the polymers were calculated by using cyclic voltammetry measurements. The LUMO energy levels of BODIPY-based alternating copolymers were independent of the acceptors; this suggests that the major factor that tunes the LUMO energy levels of the polymers could be the BODIPY core. All polymers showed selective and reproducible detection of volatile organic solvents, such as toluene and benzene, which could be used for developing sensors.

Rational design of D–A1–D–A2 conjugated polymers with superior spectral coverage

Calculations and experiments elucidate factors governing how D–A₁–D–A₂ polymers offer fundamentally improved spectral coverage via allowed transitions to both acceptor LUMOs.

Conjugated polymer network films of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) with hole-transporting carbazole pendants: dual photoluminescence and electrochromic behavior

A series of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) copolymers functionalized with hole-transport and electrochemically active carbazole units as pendant moieties is reported. These polymers exhibit photoluminescence properties by virtue of the PPV analogous backbone. They were also designed as precursor polymer bearing the electroactive carbazole group to form conjugated polymer network (CPN) films by electrodeposition. The electrochemical polymerization of the pendant units eventually lead to a dual property electro-optically active thin film - photoluminescence (PL) behavior that can be attenuated with CPN formation, and a reversible doping and dedoping processes at controlled potentials that lead to an electrochromic behavior. This reveals the ability to incorporate complementary optical and electro-optical properties within the same film using the CPN approach. It should be possible to design and synthesize other PPV π-conjugated polymers with efficient pendant hole-transport groups exhibiting tunable PL and electrochromism with cross-linking.

Structural and electrical characterization of a block copolymer-based unipolar nonvolatile memory device

Electronic devices based on a series of synthesized block copolymers are demonstrated. In particular, a block copolymer system with a lamellar structure exhibits unipolar switching behavior. This study provides a simple strategy based on the adjustment of the block ratio in block copolymers to control the polymer morphology and thus the electrical and switching properties of polymer-based memory devices.

Benzotriazole containing conjugated polymers for multipurpose organic electronic applications

Benzotriazole (BTz) containing polymers are reviewed from a general perspective in terms of their potential use in organic electronic applications namely electrochromics (ECs), organic solar cells (OSCs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) in comparison with the structurally similar polymers.

Formation of a perylenetetracarboxylic diimide network film by post electrochemical treatment

Perylenetetracarboxylic diimide (PDI) derivatives bearing two or four peripheral pyrrole pendants (PDI-nPy, n=2 or 4) are cross-linkable materials by electro/phototreatment. In this paper, we introduce a new posttreatment technique to produce an insoluble film. Unlike the common solution-phase electrochemical deposition, we first spin-coated PDI-nPy on an electrode and then electrotreated the coated surface in a monomer-free electrolyte solution. This method gives the film a smooth surface with no granules, while the common method induces a rough film with a lot of granules. The post electrochemical treatment also provides a merit of higher resolution in a patterning process on a specific metal electrode. As one of the applications, we carried out an electrochromic study on the posttreated PDI-4Py film. It turned purple (lambdamax=590 nm) and sky blue (lambdamax=797 nm) at 0 and -1.9 V vs Ag/Ag+, respectively. We believe this method will broaden the patterning concept with the desired film morphology and resolution using PDI on a specific electrode.