Polymer Science and Technology

Biography

Biography: Chernyshev A.A

Abstract

Conjugated metallo-supramolecular polymers (MSP) attract attention of many researchers, as  a  new  type  of  better  processable  materials  for  applications  in  optoelectronics  and  electronics. Research  in  this  field  combines  the  covalent  polymer  chemistry  and  organometallic  chemistry  of coordination  compounds.  A  typical  MSP  consists  of  organic  building  blocks  (called  unimers) capped  with  at  least  two  chelating  end-groups,  through  which  unimer  molecules  are  reversibly linked into supramolecular chains by coordination to metal ions (“ion couplers”). Numerous ditopic unimers bearing two 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine-4′-yl end-group (tpy) are described in literature. Specific configuration of nitrogen atoms provides fac-mer (facial-meridional) coordination of tpy end-groups to the ion couplers that gives MSPs with a well-defined stereochemistry representing an important feature for the charge transport in organic semiconductors. The properties of MSPs can be easily tuned by modifying the central block of unimer or ion couplers. Since 2011, number of α,ω-bis(tpy) unimers with oligothiophene and other central blocks and related MSPs have been developed and studied  as  to  their  properties  in  our  group.  Recently,  the  singlet  fission  (SF)  phenomenon  was revealed in thin films of the MSP formed by self-assembly of α,ω-bis(tpy)terthiophene with Zn2+  ion couplers. The present work concerns unimers containing thieno[3,2-b]thiophene-diyl units in central block and related MSPs with various ion couplers. Introduction of thieno[3,2-b]thiophene-diyl unit to unimers seems to be a good way to decrease the conformational disorder, increase the extent of π-electron  delocalization  and,  as  a  result,  to  reduce  the  bandgap  energy  in  resulting  conjugated systems. Study of photophysical properties of obtained MSPs with focus on the SF phenomenon is envisaged.