Triarylamine polymers were prepared by palladium-catalyzed amination of aryl halides, and the
electrochemical and magnetic properties of these materials were studied. Through a careful evaluation of the
catalytic and polymer chemistry involved in this process, triarylamine polymers that are exclusively linear and
free of phosphorus impurity in the polymer chain have been prepared. To suppress molecular weight-limiting
side reactions from palladium-catalyzed poly(N-arylaniline) polymerizations, a number of phosphines were
screened in reactions of small molecules to form triarylamines. Of these phosphines, tris(o-methoxymethylphenyl)phosphine (7) and tri(tert-butyl)phosphine (8) led to quantitative amination without ligand arylation,
aryl bromide hydrodehalogenation, or exchange of phosphine aryl groups with the aryl bromide. When these
phosphines were used in polymerizations, significant improvements in molecular weights were observed, but
an additional molecular weight limiting side reaction, the formation of cyclic oligomers, was not affected.
Strategies to minimize cyclizations that compete with chain growth were explored, including the use of
oligomeric monomers that greatly reduced the formation of cyclic oligomers. A chromatographic method
completely removed low molecular weight cyclic oligomers. A number of poly(N-arylaniline) derivatives with
M
w values as high as 105 g/mol were synthesized by using the optimized palladium-catalyzed method, and the
electronic and magnetic properties of these materials were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, magnetic
susceptibility, and EPR spectroscopy.