The unexpected kinetics in the synthesis of polythiophene derivatives
Christine Luscombe Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan
Conjugated polymers with ethylene glycol side chains are emerging as ideal materials for bioelectronics, particularly for application in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). To improve the OECT device performance, developing an efficient synthetic strategy that will provide access to novel high-performing materials besides focusing on molecular design is important. While much effort is being devoted to designing new polymers by modifying the glycol side chains, understanding how their nature affects the polymerization kinetics and, eventually the polymer structure and properties is unknown. In this work, we have studied the influence of the content of the ethylene glycol side chain and its linkage to the formation of the active Grignard monomer species upon Grignard metathesis in three thiophene derivatives. A strong dependence of the monomer’s concentration on polymerization was noted in our study, indicating that for synthesizing a glyocolated polythiophene, P3MEEMT- a high-performing OECT material, a minimum of 0.15 M monomer is needed. Furthermore, kinetic studies by GPC show uncontrolled polymerization behavior contrary to the controlled chain growth characteristics of the KCTP.
P08
© The Author(s), 2023
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