Chemical synthesis polythiophene derivatives

Figure 19.1 Energy diagram of substituted PT 14b(PBET), 14c(PCBET)and9e(P30T). Reprinted with permission from S.-H. Ahn, M.-z. Czae, E.-R. Kim, H. Lee, S.-H. Han, J. Nob, M. Hara, Synthesis and characterization of soluble polythiophene derivatives containing electron-transporting moiety. Macromolecules, 34, 2522-2527 (2001). Copyright 2001 American Chemical Society.

Because of their potential or real applications in various fields of technology, oligothiophenes (Th ) and polythiophene (PTh) have become the center of great interest in many laboratories ranging from chemical synthesis to device manufacturing [175,176]. The vibrational spectra of Th and PTh and of their innumerable functionalized derivatives have been recorded either for routine chemical characterization or for more detailed structural studies. Reference 42 provides a rather complete review of a few years of vibrational spectroscopy of these materials. 

Thiophene, pyrrole and their derivatives, in contrast to benzene, are easily oxidized electrochemically in common solvents and this has been a favourite route for their polymerization, because it allows in situ formation of thin films on electrode surfaces. Structure control in electrochemical polymerization is limited and the method is not well suited for preparing substantial amounts of polymer, so that there has been interest in chemical routes as an alternative. Most of the methods described above for synthesis of poly(p-phenylene) have been applied to synthesise polypyrrole and polythiophene, with varying success. 

Summaries on the synthesis, properties, and uses of polythiophenes are included in two general reviews on poly thiophenes [259,260]. A synopsis of important aspects of polythiophenes are also included in several reviews on various aspects of conducting polymers [221-226], Cation radicals are the propagating species in both electrochemical and chemical oxidative polymerizations of thiophene and its derivatives. The polymer obtained by this method is linked primarily by a,a-linkages. However, other types of linkages (a,f3 and /3,/3) are present in varying amounts (Fig. 59). Substituted thiophene derivatives can couple in a head-to-tail or head-to-head manner. 

As in the cases of pyrrole and aniline polymers, both chemical and electrochemical procedures have been employed in the synthesis of polythiophene (PTH) and its derivatives. The thiophene polymers exhibit remarkable stability in air and water [119], The alkyl-substituted derivatives also exhibit a high degree of processability [120,121]. PTH has also been synthesized from bithiophane (the dimer) or terthiophene (the trimer). The resulting poly(2,2 -bithiophene) (PbTH) and polyterthiophene (PtTH) are more ordered than PTH and appear to have the same basic structure as the starting monomer [117,122],... 

Early progress in polythiophene chemistry was achieved by the synthesis of mono- and dialkoxy-substituted thiophene derivatives developed by Leclerc [6] and industrial scientists at Hoechst AG [7-9]. However, most polymers of mono- and dialkoxythiophenes exhibited low conductivity in the oxidized, doped state. A breakthrough in this area was the synthesis of polymers of the bicyclic 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDT or EDOT) and its derivatives—electrochemically polymerized by Heinze et al. and chemically polymerized by Jonas et al. of the Bayer Corporate Research Laboratories [10,11]. In contrast to the nonbicyclic polymers of mono- and dialkoxythiophenes, PEDT has a very stable and highly conductive cationic doped state. The low HOMO-LUMO bandgap of conductive PEDT allowed the formation of a tremendously stable, highly conductive ICP [12]. Technical use and commercialization quickly followed today ICPs based on PEDT are commercially available in multiton quantities. 

Poly (thiophene)s are of particular interest as electfochromic materials owing to their chemical stability, ease of synthesis and processability. For the most part, current research has been focused on composites, blends and copolymer formations of several conjugated polyheterocyclics, polythiophene and its derivatives, especially PEIX)T. In one example, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-l-propanesulfonate) (PAMPS) composite films were prepared by Sonmez et al. for alternative electrochromic applications [50]. Thin composite films comprised of PEDOT/PAMPS were reported to switch rapidly between oxidized and neufial states, in less than 0.4 s, with an initial optical contrast of 76% at A.max. 615 nm. Nanostructured blends of electrochromic polymers such as polypyrrole and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) were developed via self-assembly by Inganas etal. for application as an electrochromic window [26]. Uniir etal. developed a graft-type electrochromic copolymer of polythiophene and polytetrahydrofuran for use in elecfiochromic devices [51]. Two EDOT-based copolymers, poly[(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-aZ/-(2,5-dioctyloxyphenylene)] and poly[(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-aft-(9,9 -dioctylfluorene)] were developed by Aubert et al. as other candidates for electrochromic device development [52],... 

Finally, we will concentrate on the chemical reactivity of silyl derivatives of thiophene. The oxidative polymerization of various silyl monomers lead to polythiophene. The evaluation of this new polymerization reaction implies a precise characterization of the produced conjugated materials. Knowledge and the control of the pertinent parameters which direct the properties of the conjugated systems are essential. Also required is the development of methods which allow a precise characterization of the samples. The role of vibrational infrared and Raman spectroscopy is of fundamental importance in this field. Optical spectroscopy is one of the few tools for unravelling the structure of these materials and understanding their properties. First, new criteria based on infrared, Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy which allow precise estimates of the conjugation properties will be reported. Then the synthesis and characterization of polythiophene samples arising from the oxidative polymerization of silyl thiophene will be presented. 

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