Azomethine-Containing Pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrrole Copolymers for Simple and Degradable Conjugated Polymers

Conjugated polymers have received significant attention as potentially lightweight and highly tailorable alternatives to inorganic semiconductors, but their synthesis is often complex, produces toxic byproducts, and they are not typically designed to be degradable or recyclable. These drawbacks necessitate dedicated efforts to discover materials with design motifs that enable targeted and efficient degradation of conjugated polymers. In this vein, the synthetic simplicity of 1,4-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-b]pyrroles (DHPPs) is exploited to access azomethine-containing copolymers via a benign acid-catalyzed polycondensation protocol. Polymerizations involve reacting a dialdehyde-functionalized dihydropyrrolopyrrole with p-phenylenediamine as the comonomer using p-toluenesulfonic acid as a catalyst. The inherent dynamic equilibrium of the azomethine bonds subsequently enabled the degradation of the polymers in solution in the presence of acid. Degradation of the polymers is monitored via NMR, UV-vis absorbance, and fluorescence spectroscopies, and the polymers are shown to be fully degradable. Notably, while absorbance measurements reveal a continued shift to higher energies with extended exposure to acid, fluorescence measurements show a substantial increase in the fluorescence response upon degradation. Results from this study encourage the continued development of environmentally-conscious polymerizations to attain polymeric materials with useful properties while simultaneously creating polymers with structural handles for end-of-life management or/and recyclability.

High temperature stable conjugated polyazomethines containing naphthalene moiety: Synthesis, characterization, optical, electrical and thermal properties

A series of azomethine diol monomers containing naphthalene moiety were synthesized and oxidatively polymerized in aqueous alkaline medium using NaOCl as oxidant. The structure of the monomers and polymers was characterized by using various spectroscopic techniques. PL spectra of polymers are exhibiting good emission with high Stokes shift values than the monomers due to their polyconjugated structure. The electrical conductivity of polymers was measured by a two-point probe technique, and it increases with an increase in iodine vapour contact time up to 144 h. The electrical conductivity values were correlated with the charge density on azomethine nitrogen obtained from the Hückel calculation method. The dielectric properties of polymers were studied at different temperatures in the frequency range from 50 Hz to 5 MHz. The synthesized polyazomethines have recorded high thermal stability and are shown by carbon residue of around 50% at 800 °C in the thermogravimetric analysis.

From aerospace to screen: Multifunctional poly(benzoxazine)s based on different triarylamines for electrochromic, explosive detection and resistance memory devices

Four kinds of main-chain benzoxazine polymers (PBZ) containing triarylamine (TAA) units were synthesized by Mannich reaction and characterized by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) techniques, etc. Thermal, optical, photophysical and electrochemical properties were studied. The 50% of char residue is left in N₂ at 800 °C. The polymers are soluble in common organic solvents and easily spin-coated onto indium‑tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates. All the polymers have voltage window ranging from 0 to 1.8 V, and the colors change from yellowish to dark red when voltage is applied. Meanwhile, device assembled from polymer exhibit significant color changes. Furthermore, the polymers also have promising potential application in explosive detection and resistance memory devices.

Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Spectroscopic Characterization of Bis-aldehyde Monomers and Their Electrically Conductive Pristine Polyazomethines

Bis-aldehyde monomers 4-(4′-formyl-phenoxy)benzaldehyde (3a), 3-methoxy-4-(4′-formyl-phenoxy)benzaldehyde (3b), and 3-ethoxy-4-(4′-formyl-phenoxy)benzaldehyde (3c) were synthesized by etherification of 4-fluorobenzaldehyde (1) with 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2a), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2b), and 3-ethoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (2c), respectively. Each monomer was polymerized with p-phenylenediamine and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether to yield six poly(azomethine)s. Single crystal X-ray diffraction structures of 3b and 3c were determined. The structural characterization of the monomers and poly(azomethine)s was performed by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopic techniques and elemental analysis. Physicochemical properties of polymers were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), viscometry, UV–vis, spectroscopy and photoluminescence. These polymers were subjected to electrical conductivity measurements by the four-probe method, and their conductivities were found to be in the range 4.0 × 10⁻⁵ to 6.4 × 10⁻⁵ Scm⁻¹, which was significantly higher than the values reported so far.

Conjugated Polyimine Dynamers as Phase-Sensitive Membrane Probes

In this report, dynamic polyimines are introduced as multifunctional sensors of lipid bilayer phases. Under mildly acidic conditions, self-condensation of push-pull amino formyl fluorenes into polyimines occurs in solid- or liquid-ordered phases but not in liquid-disordered phases of vesicular membranes. The obtained conjugated polymers are characterized by a progressive red shift of the absorption maxima, the appearance of exciton-coupled circular dichroism (CD) bands, and fluorescence quenching. These characteristics allow multiple modes of detection of membrane phases, which are known to change under membrane tension.

Amphiphilic polypyrrole-poly(Schiff base) copolymers with poly(ethylene glycol) side chains: synthesis, properties and applications

New amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-grafted random intrinsically conducting copolymers which combine three different functionalities have been engineered, prepared and characterized.

Rational Design of Push-Pull Fluorene Dyes: Synthesis and Structure-Photophysics Relationship

Our work surveyed experimental and theoretical investigations to construct highly emissive D-π-A (D=donor, A=acceptor) fluorenes. The synthetic routes were optimised to be concise and gram-scalable. The molecular design was first rationalised by varying the electron-withdrawing group from an aldehyde, ketotriazole or succinyl to methylenemalonitrile or benzothiadiazole. The electron-donating group was next varied from aliphatic or aromatic amines to saturated cyclic amines ranging from aziridine to azepane. Spectroscopic studies correlated with TD-DFT calculations provided the optimised structures. The selected push-pull dyes exhibited visible absorptions, significant brightness, important solvatofluorochromism, mega-Stokes shifts (>250 nm) and dramatic shifts in emission to the near-infrared. The current library includes the comprehensive characterization of 16 prospective dyes for fluorescence applications. Among them, several fluorene derivatives bearing different conjugation anchors were tested for coupling and demonstrated to preserve the photophysical responses once further bound.

Unusually high fluorescence quantum yield of a homopolyfluorenylazomethine--towards a universal fluorophore

The absolute fluorescence quantum yield (Φfl) of a polyfluorenyl azomethine homopolymer was measured as a function of solvent polarity. The solvent induced and temperature dependent fluorescence of the homopolymer were also investigated and they were compared to the corresponding monomer and copolymer. The Φfl of the homopolymer was consistent (45-70%), regardless of solvent polarity with Stokes shifts up to 7460 cm(-1) in ethanol. In contrast, the Φfl of its corresponding monomer decreased from 60% in ethanol to 1% in toluene, whereas a Φfl < 5% for its analogous copolymer was measured. Moderate fluorescence yields (Φfl ≈ 25%) were also possible in thin film when co-depositing the homopolymer with PMMA. Cryofluorescence was used to probe the excited state deactivation modes. Deactivation by internal conversion was found to compete with fluorescence. The fluorescence deactivation pathways of the homopolymer and its corresponding monomer could be suppressed at 77 K, resulting in fluorescence turn-on. Both fluorophores were found to detect nitroaromatics.

Electroactive and bioactive films of random copolymers containing terthiophene, carboxyl and Schiff base functionalities in the main chain

Copolymers made of a bis-thienyl monomer with preformed azomethine linkages and terthiophene are promising functional biomaterials.

Insight into the isoelectronic character of azomethines and vinylenes using representative models: a spectroscopic and electrochemical study

A series of azomethine and vinylene dyad and triad analogues were prepared. Their absorbance, fluorescence, and redox properties were examined experimentally and theoretically using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. These measurements were done to determine the effect of the heteroatom of the azomethine relative to its all-carbon counterpart and to assess the isoelectronic character of the two bonds. The orientation of the azomethine was found to have little effect on the absorbance, fluorescence, and electrochemical properties. In contrast, the spectral and electrochemical properties were highly contingent on the electronic groups and degree of conjugation. The spectral properties could be tuned 200 nm across the visible region. More importantly, the heteroatom in the conjugated bond was found to give rise to only a 20 nm bathochromic shift in the absorbance and fluorescence spectra. The fluorescence quantum yield (ΦFl) of the vinylene derivatives varied between 5% and 20% with fluorescence quenching occurring by photoisomerization from the E to Z isomers. In contrast, the fluorescence of the analogous azomethine derivatives was completely quenched. The collective spectroscopic and electrochemical ab initio DFT data additionally confirmed that the azomethine and its analogous vinylene are isoelectronic. It was also found that a conjugated thiophene vinylene dyad with primary amines in the α,α'-positions could be prepared and isolated. The compound was stable under aerobic conditions providing electron withdrawing (either ester or nitrile) groups were located in the adjacent positions.