A new carbazole-derived triphenylamine-containing aromatic dicarboxylic acid monomer, 4,4′dicarboxy-4′′-N-carbazolyltriphenylamine, with blue light (460 nm) fluorescence quantum yield of 40% was successfully synthesized by the cesium-fluoride-mediated condensation of N-(4-aminophenyl)carbazole with 4-fluorobenzonitrile, followed by alkaline hydrolysis of the dinitrile intermediate. A series of novel poly(amineamide)s with pendent N-phenylcarbazole units having inherent viscosities of 0.36-0.61 dL/g were prepared from the newly synthesized dicarboxylic acid monomer and various aromatic diamines by direct phosphorylation polycondensation. The obtained polymers were amorphous and could afford flexible, transparent, and tough films with good mechanical properties. They had useful levels of thermal stability associated with relatively high glasstransition temperatures (269-322 °C). These polymers exhibited strong UV-vis absorption maxima at 340-361 nm, and their photoluminescence showed emission peaks around 449-465 nm with quantum yields up to 46% in NMP solution. The hole-transporting and electrochromic properties were examined by electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical methods. Cyclic voltammograms of the poly(amine-amide) films prepared by casting polymer solution onto an indium-tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate exhibited one reversible oxidative redox couples at potentials of 1.11-1.18 V vs Ag/AgCl in acetonitrile solution due to oxidation of main-chain triphenylamine unit. The polymer films revealed excellent stability of electrochromic characteristics for the radical cations generated, changing color from original yellowish to deep blue.

N‐(4‐nitrophenyl)‐4′,4″‐bisformyl‐diphenylamine was synthesized from N‐(4‐nitrophenyl)‐diphenylamine by the Vilsmeier‐Haack reaction. Soluble aromatic poly(azomethine)s (PAMs) were prepared by the solution polycondensation of N‐(4‐nitrophenyl)‐4′,4″‐bisformyl‐diphenylamine and aromatic diamine in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP) at room temperature under reduced pressure. All the PAMs are highly soluble in various organic solvents, such as N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), chloroform (CHCl3), and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicated that these PAMs had glass‐transition temperatures (Tgs) in the range of 170–230 °C, and a 10% weight‐loss temperatures in excess of 490 °C with char yield at 800 °C in nitrogen higher than 60%. These PAMs in NMP solution showed UV‐Vis charge‐transfer (CT) absorption at 405–421 nm and photoluminescence peaks around 462–466 nm with fluorescence quantum efficiency (ΦF) 0.10–0.99%. The highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels of these PAMs can be determined from cyclic voltammograms as 4.86–5.43 and 3.31–3.34 eV, respectively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4921–4932, 2007

Solution processing of π-conjugated polymers constitutes a major low-cost manufacturing method for the fabrication of many new organic optoelectronic devices. The solution self-assembly kinetics of π-conjugated rod-coil block copolymers of symmetric poly(3-hexyl thiophene)-b-poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (P3HT-P2VP) during drying and the phase transformations of the subsequently dried samples were studied by using a combination of TEM, SAXS, WAXS and DSC measurements. During solution drying in chlorobenzene, a good solvent for the copolymer, P3HT-P2VP first formed nanoseed aggregates followed by the directional growth of nanofibrils driven by the formation of prevailing form II P3HT crystals within its nanofibril core confined by the surrounding domain of P2VP blocks. This result was in sharp contrast when a similar molecular weight P3HT homopolymer was solution self-assembled in chlorobenzene, nearly free from confinement, in which case the resulting nanofibrils consisted of a mixture of majority form I and form II crystals. Solvent-cast films of P3HT-P2VP nanofibrils with form II crystals were heat-/cold-treated and showed solid-state phase transformations from form II crystals to form I crystals, both within nanofibrils with annealing, indicating the metastability of the form II crystals with temperature. A disordered state followed with increasing temperatures which, when cooled, induced the formation of a thermodynamically stable lamellar phase with only form I P3HT crystals. Correspondingly, the study provides new strategies for controlling polymorphs and nanostructures of π-conjugated block copolymers for future applications using solution processing and subsequent heat treatment.

Driven by molecular affinity and balance in the crystallization kinetics, the ability to co-crystallize dissimilar yet self-crystallizable blocks of a block copolymer (BCP) into a uniform domain may strongly affect its phase diagram. In this study, we synthesize a new series of crystalline and monodisperse all-π-conjugated poly(2,5-dihexyloxy-p-phenylene)-b-poly(3-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophene) (PPP-P3EHT) BCPs and investigate this multi-crystallization effect. Despite vastly different side-chain and main-chain structures, PPP and P3EHT blocks are able to co-crystallize into a single uniform domain comprising PPP and P3EHT main-chains with mutually interdigitated side-chains spaced in-between. With increasing P3EHT fraction, PPP-P3EHTs undergo sequential phase transitions and form hierarchical superstructures including predominately PPP nanofibrils, co-crystalline nanofibrils, a bilayer co-crystalline/pure P3EHT lamellar structure, a microphase-separated bilayer PPP-P3EHT lamellar structure, and finally P3EHT nanofibrils. In particular, the presence of the new co-crystalline lamellar structure is the manifestation of the interaction balance between self-crystallization and co-crystallization of the dissimilar polymers on the resulting nanostructure of the BCP. The current study demonstrates the co-crystallization nature of all-conjugated BCPs with different main-chain moieties and may provide new guidelines for the organization of π-conjugated BCPs for future optoelectronic applications.

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A series of novel triphenylamine‐containing aromatic polyamides and polyimides having a crank and twisted noncoplanar structures were synthesized in inherent viscosities of 0.14–0.64 dL/g and 0.11–0.67 dL/g, respectively. These polymers had useful levels of thermal stability associated with relatively high glass‐transition temperatures (174–311 °C). They exhibited strong UV–Vis absorption bands at around 300 nm in NMP solutions. The PL spectra of these polymers in NMP solutions (1 × 10−5 M) showed maximum peaks around 396–479 nm. The hole‐transporting and electrochromic properties were examined by electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical methods. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) of the polymer films cast onto an indium‐tin oxide (ITO)‐coated glass substrate exhibited two reversible oxidation redox couples at potentials of 0.70–1.01 V and 1.10–1.46 V, respectively, vs. Ag/AgCl in acetonitrile solution. The polymer films revealed electrochromic characteristics, with a color change from neutral pale yellowish to green and then to a blue oxidized form at applied potentials ranging from 0.00 to 1.75 V. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2587–2603, 2006

Through the Stille coupling polymerization, a series of soluble acceptor/donor quinoxaline/thiophene alternating conducting polymers with a hole‐transporting moiety of carbazole as a side chain (PCPQT) has been designed, synthesized, and investigated. The UV–vis measurement of the charge‐transferred type PCPQTs of different molecular weights with low polydispersity exhibits a red shifting of their absorption maximum from 530 to 630 nm with increasing chain length (Mn: from 1100 to 19,200). The HOMO and LUMO energy levels of PCPQT can be determined from the cyclic voltammetry measurement to be −5.36 and −3.59 eV, respectively. Solar cells made from PCPQT/PCBM bulk heterojunction show a high open‐circuit voltage, Voc of ∼0.75 V, which is significantly higher than that of a solar cell made from conventional poly(3‐hexyl thiophene)/PCBM as the active polymer PCPQT has lower HOMO level. Further improvements are anticipated through a rational design of the new low band‐gap and the structurally two‐dimensional donor–acceptor conducting polymers. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1607–1616, 2010

A series of 3‐substituted polythiophene copolymers having different side chain arrangements of hexyl and hexyloxyl groups has been synthesized via the Grignard metathesis (GRIM) method. Despite differences in monomer reactivity ratios for the nickel‐catalyzed transfer chain polymerization, random sequences of hexyl‐ and hexyloxy‐substituted polythiophenes with different monomer compositions and adjustable band‐gap energies can be synthesized according to their respective comonomer feed ratio. This study shows potential for synthesizing random copolymers with different monomer reactivities via the GRIM method for further optoelectronic application.