Issue 25, 2015

Molecular design of DBT/DBF hybrid thiophenes π-conjugated systems and comparative study of their electropolymerization and optoelectronic properties: from comonomers to electrochromic polymers

Abstract

A novel series of comonomers, which comprise dibenzothiophene (DBT) and dibenzofuran (DBF) cores symmetrically linked to thiophene and 3-alkylthiophenes at 2 and 8-positions, were designed and electropolymerized to yield the corresponding electrochromic polymers. The structure–property relationships of comonomers and polymers, including electrochemistry, thermal stability, fluorescence, and electrochromic properties, were systematically explored. In relation to the core group, the alkyl chain group of these polymers had a relatively significant influence on the redox behavior, band gap, neutral state colour, stability, and electrochromic performance (optical contrast, CE, and switching time) of the system. Furthermore, all the polymer films displayed unique electrochromic characteristics with switching the color from yellow to blue. Further kinetic results showed moderate to high optical contrast (20–70%), high colouration efficiency (typically 170–370 cm2 C−1), and favorable switching time (0.8–9.4 s). Among them, the electrochromic performances of 3-hexylthiophene-end-capped polymers were superior to those with thiophene/3-methylthiophene as terminal groups. These results demonstrated that DBT/DBF-based π-conjugated polymer materials hold promise for display applications and DBT/DBF could be further employed for the rational design of excellent electrochromic polymers by matching with other heterocycle units.

Graphical abstract: Molecular design of DBT/DBF hybrid thiophenes π-conjugated systems and comparative study of their electropolymerization and optoelectronic properties: from comonomers to electrochromic polymers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Mar 2015
Accepted
26 Apr 2015
First published
28 Apr 2015

Polym. Chem., 2015,6, 4575-4587

Author version available

Molecular design of DBT/DBF hybrid thiophenes π-conjugated systems and comparative study of their electropolymerization and optoelectronic properties: from comonomers to electrochromic polymers

K. Lin, S. Ming, S. Zhen, Y. Zhao, B. Lu and J. Xu, Polym. Chem., 2015, 6, 4575 DOI: 10.1039/C5PY00410A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements