Study of the polymerization behavior of p-quinodimethane systems: structure-engineering of PPV derivates towards specific physical properties

Abstract

Chapter 1 displayed a general introduction on conjugated polymers, which combine the mechanical properties and processing advantages of polymers with the electrical and optical properties of metals and semiconductors. In order to be semiconducting, these conjugated polymers need to have a backbone consisting of alternating single and double bonds. Furthermore charge carriers need to be injected into the polymer, to induce conductivity. The optical properties of these polymers, such as electroluminescence and photoluminescence, have been explained. Various optoelectronic devices which make use of conjugated polymers, e.g. light emitting diodes and photovoltaic cells, have been described. The thesis mainly focused on one class of semiconducting polymers, the poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) derivatives. They can be synthesized via direct routes, or via pquinodimethane based precursor routes. The aim of the thesis was the synthesis and characterization of novel functionalized PPV derivatives for optoelectronic applications. To this end, usually the dithiocarbamate precursor route was used, unless otherwise stated. ...