A soluble and fluorescent new type thienylpyrrole based conjugated polymer: optical, electrical and electrochemical properties

Abstract

Recently, increased attention has been focused on the synthesis of soluble and processable conducting polymers due to interest in their potential application. For this purpose a new type electroactive 2,5-di(2-thienyl)pyrrole derivative was synthesized and its novel solution-processable and fluorescent polymer, namely poly(N-(2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)-3,4,5-tris(dodecyloxy)benzamide) (P(TPDOB)), was electrochemically synthesized. Characterization of the monomer and the polymer was performed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, cyclic voltammetry, and UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. This soluble polymer has very well-defined and reversible redox processes in the acetonitrile-lithium perchlorate (ACN/LiClO4) couple. Moreover, P(TPDOB) shows multielectrochromic behavior: blue in the oxidized state, caesious in the intermediate state and greenish in the neutral state. Also the copolymer consists of EDOT and TPDOB was synthesized by cyclic voltammetry. A copolymer film has superior electrochromic and electrical properties when compared with a homopolymer. Furthermore, the fluorescence features of the monomer and the polymer were investigated. Although the monomer is a violet light emitter, its polymer is a yellow light emitter. Synthesis of this new type solution-processable and fluorescent conducting polymer is an alternative to the conventional synthesis of soluble conducting polymers which allows the direct application of the conductive polymer to any desired surface for potential technological applications.