Alkyl Side-Chain Length Effects on Fluorescence Dynamics, Lamellar Layer Structures, and Optical Anisotropy of Poly(diphenylacetylene) Derivatives

Copolymers of 4-Trimethylsilyl Diphenyl Acetylene and 1-Trimethylsilyl-1-Propyne: Polymer Synthesis and Luminescent Property Adjustment

Poly(4-trimethylsilyl diphenyl acetylene) (PTMSDPA) has strong fluorescence emission, but its application is limited by the effect of aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ). Copolymerization is a commonly used method to adjust the properties of polymers. Through the copolymerization of 4-trimethylsilyl diphenyl acetylene and 1-trimethylsilyl-1-propyne (TMSP), we successfully realized the conversion of PTMSDPA from ACQ to aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AEE). By controlling the monomer feeding ratio and with the increase of the content of TMSDPA inserted into the copolymer, the emission peak was red-shifted, and a series of copolymers of poly(TMSDPA-co-TMSP) that emit blue-purple to orange-red light was obtained, and the feasibility of the application in explosive detection was verified. With picric acid (PA) as a model explosive, a super-quenching process has been observed, and the quenching constant (K_SV) calculated from the Stern-Volmer equation is 24,000 M^-1, which means that the polymer is potentially used for explosive detection.

An effective approach for fabricating high-strength polyurethane hydrogels with reversible photochromic performance as a photoswitch

Reversible high-strength photochromic polyurethane hydrogel which can realize information storage was successfully prepared by a polyaddition reaction.

Chiral helical disubstituted polyacetylenes form optically active particles through precipitation polymerization

Preparation of optically active polymer particles constructed by chiral helical disubstituted polyacetylenes via precipitation polymerization.

Polymerization of 1-chloro-2-phenylacetylene derivatives by using a Brookhart-type catalyst

A Brookhart-type catalyst (α-diimine)PdMeCl/AgOTf works well in the polymerization of 1-chloro-2-phenylacetylene monomers bearing nonpolar/polar and electron releasing/withdrawing substituents in nonpolar/polar solvents.

Functional phenylethynylene side arm poly(arylene ethynylene) conjugated polymers: optical and electrochemical behavior for enrichment of electronic applications

The new type of poly(phenyl ethynylene) side arm conjugated polymers were synthesised with effective photophysical and electrochemical properties.

A novel post-polymerization modification route to functional poly(disubstituted acetylenes) through phenol–yne click reaction

This work not only enriches the precursor species for the synthesis of functional poly(disubstituted acetylenes) but also adds a powerful tool to the tool box for the preparation of other functional polymers through the post-polymerization modification route.

Highly Emissive, Optically Active Poly(diphenylacetylene) Having a Bulky Chiral Side Group

A highly emissive, optically active poly(diphenylacetylene) derivative, NpSi*-PDPA, was synthesized by introducing a bulky chiral pendant group into the polymer chain. NpSi*-PDPA exists in a glassy state having a highly disordered and amorphous structure. Hence, the fractional free volume is quite high, i.e., 0.29. NpSi*-PDPA emits a green light in solution and a yellow light in film. This polymer is quite emissive, as the photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield is 56.1% in solution and 6.2% in film, and the PL lifetime is relatively long, 1.71 ns in solution and 1.05 ns in film. NpSi*-PDPA shows the strongest circular dichroism (CD) signal at 384 nm, with a magnitude of circular polarization (g_CD) of 0.90 × 10^-3 and an optical rotation of 110° (4.30 × 10^-3 g mL^-1, in CHCl₃). The CD intensity is significantly increased by annealing at 80 °C, reaching an equilibrium at g_CD of 7.10 × 10^-3 after 72 h.

Highly emissive 'frozen-in' conjugated polymer nanofibers

Conjugated-polymer nanofibers with a thermodynamically stable, coarsened, disordered structure in an amorphous glassy state were fabricated via a freeze-drying method using a poly(diphenylacetylene) derivative. The nanofibers were extremely emissive, with a fluorescence (FL) quantum yield of approximately 0.34, which was much higher than that of both the cast film (0.02) and the solution (0.21). Similarly, the amplitude-weighted average FL lifetime of the nanofibers was 0.74 ns, which was much longer than that of the film (0.29 ns) and the solution (0.57 ns). This unusual and enhanced FL-emission behavior was attributed to the abruptly quenched chain structure that was created by the freeze-drying process. The polymer chains in the nanofibers remained frozen-in and the side phenyl rings were retained in a relaxed state. The metastable chains did not undergo vibrational relaxation and collisional quenching to generate the radiative emission decay effectively.

Influence of a hydrodynamic environment on chain rigidity, liquid crystallinity, absorptivity, and photoluminescence of hydrogen-bonding-assisted helical poly(phenylacetylene)

The chain rigidity, liquid crystallinity, absorptivity, and photoluminescence of a helical poly(phenylacetylene) derivative varied significantly depending on the solvent, owing to the conformational changes based on intramolecular hydrogen bonds.

Different amine-functionalized poly(diphenylsubstituted acetylenes) from the same precursor

A facile and efficient synthetic route to different amine functionalized poly(diphenyl-substituted acetylenes) from the same precursor polymer is reported. The derived polymers demonstrated versatile applications.

Fluorescent Molecular Rotor-in-Paraffin Waxes for Thermometry and Biometric Identification

Novel thermoresponsive sensor systems consisting of a molecular rotor (MR) and paraffin wax (PW) were developed for various thermometric and biometric identification applications. Polydiphenylacetylenes (PDPAs) coupled with long alkyl chains were used as MRs, and PWs of hydrocarbons having 16-20 carbons were utilized as phase-change materials. The PDPAs were successfully dissolved in the molten PWs and did not act as an impurity that prevents phase transition of the PWs. These PDPA-in-PW hybrids had almost the same enthalpies and phase-transition temperatures as the corresponding pure PWs. The hybrids exhibited highly reversible fluorescence (FL) changes at the critical temperatures during phase transition of the PWs. These hybrids were impregnated into common filter paper in the molten state by absorption or were encapsulated into urea resin to enhance their mechanical integrity and cyclic stability during repeated use. The wax papers could be utilized in highly advanced applications including FL image writing/erasing, an array-type thermo-indicator, and fingerprint/palmprint identification. The present findings should facilitate the development of novel fluorescent sensor systems for biometric identification and are potentially applicable for biological and biomedical thermometry.

Lyotropic chiral nematic liquid crystalline aliphatic conjugated polymers based on disubstituted polyacetylene derivatives that exhibit high dissymmetry factors in circularly polarized luminescence

We synthesized disubstituted liquid crystalline polyacetylene (diLCPA) derivatives bearing 4-nonyloxy phenyl groups with lyotropic and thermotropic LC behavior. The poly(diphenylacetylene) main chain structure of the diLCPAs and the chirality induced with either chiral moieties or chiral dopants allow the formation of a highly ordered lyotropic N*-LC phase. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the diLCPAs imply that one-handed intrachain helical structures are formed in solution, while interchain helical π-stacking between the polymer main chains are formed in cast film and in the N*-LC state. Absorption dissymmetry factors (g(abs)) in the N*-LC state show values on the order of 10(-1). The N*-LC state facilitates the formation of helically π-stacked structures with a high degree of helical ordering of the diLCPA and is indispensable for the generation of circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) with high emission dissymmetry factors (g(em)) on the order of 10(-1). To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest reported value of CPL achieved for aliphatic, conjugated polymers. As an alternative to the thermotropic N*-LC phase, we have found that the lyotropic N*-LC phase of diLCPA could be promising materials possessing CPL functionality for use in next-generation π-conjugated organic optoelectronic devices, displays, and sensors.

Polymerization of substituted acetylenes and features of the formed polymers

This review summarizes the recent advances of substituted polyacetylene chemistry, including new polymerization catalysts and the properties and functions of the polymers.