| The theme of this dissertation will focus on the syntheses and characterization of bipyridine (bipy) containing pi-conjugated polymers (CPs). Specifically, poly(p-phenylene ethynylene), polyfluorene and poly(p-phenylene vinylene) derivatives have been prepared via Sonogashira coupling, Suzuki coupling and Heck coupling, respectively. Derivatives of poly(p-phenylene ethynylene), polyfluorene and poly(p-phenylene vinylene) are known to have applications in optical and electronic devices. Through this study, polymers condensed with bulky bipy-containing TAB as one of the copolymer units have shown increased solubility and diminished intrachain/interchain aggregation in solution and in film due to the effectiveness of TAB in controlling the relative orientations of individual polymer chains. The effect of transition metal binding on polymer photophysics have been quantified and monitored by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. This series of metallopolymers features optical estimated bandgaps (Eg) of less than 3 eV, revealing their potential applications as light emitting diode and photovoltaic materials. |
