Polymers, Colloids & Interfaces, Short talk
PCI-026

Precision Synthesis of Various Low-Bandgap Donor-Acceptor Alternating Conjugated Polymers via Living Suzuki-Miyaura Catalyst-Transfer Polymerization

H. Kim1
1ETH Zurich, Department of Materials, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zurich

In this study, we present the living Suzuki-Miyaura catalyst-transfer polymerization (SCTP) using a RuPhos Pd G3 precatalyst as a versatile approach for the precision synthesis of several types of donor-acceptor alternating conjugated polymers (DA ACPs). Initially, we optimized the living SCTP process for biaryl monomers with varying electronic characters of both strong and medium electron-donating (D) and electron-accepting (A) groups. This optimization allowed us to obtain DA ACPs with controlled number-average molecular weight (Mn), narrow dispersity (Ð, 1.05-1.29), and high yields (>87%). Furthermore, we successfully expanded this method to the controlled polymerization (Mn = 9.2 - 40.0 kg mol−1) of a quateraryl monomer (A1-D-A2-D) containing diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP; a strong acceptor). Additionally, the living SCTP technique facilitated the efficient one-step synthesis of various diblock and triblock copolymers. Lastly, the resulting DA ACPs exhibited adjustable optical band gaps (Egopt) ranging from 1.29 to 1.77 eV and varied highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels (from -5.57 to -4.75 eV), while their block copolymers displayed wide absorption spectra and demonstrated promising light-harvesting properties in the visible range.

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