Synthesis and characterization of water-soluble poly(p-phenylene vinylene) derivatives via the dithiocarbamate precursor route

Joke Vandenbergh, Jeroen Dergent, Bert Conings, T. V. V. Gopala Krishna, Wouter Maes, Thomas J. Cleij, Laurence Lutsen, Jean V. Manca, Dirk J. M. Vanderzande*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Two hydrophilic branched oligo(ethylene glycol)-substituted ppv derivatives, poly(2,5-bis(1,3-bis(triethoxymethoxy)propan-2-yloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (btemp-ppv) and poly(2-methoxy-5-(1,3-bis(triethoxymethoxy)propan-2-yloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (mtemp-ppv), are presented. Polymerizations have been performed via the dithiocarbamate precursor route, using lithium hexamethyldisilazide (lhmds) as a base, to obtain high molecular weight precursor polymers. After thermal conversion of the precursor polymers into the fully conjugated systems, the solubility of the polymers has been examined. The polar nonionic side chains of mtemp-ppv and btemp-ppv render the ppv backbone soluble in a variety of solvents, including alcohols and even water, making these polymers suitable candidates to be used in optoelectronic devices that can be processed from environmentally friendly solvent systems.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1827-1835
JournalEuropean Polymer Journal
Volume47
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Water soluble conjugated polymers
  • PPV-type polymers
  • Precursor routes
  • Semi-conducting polymers

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