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Control of conformational and interpolymer effects in conjugated polymers

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An Erratum to this article was published on 04 October 2001

Abstract

The role of conjugated polymers in emerging electronic, sensor and display technologies is rapidly expanding. In spite of extensive investigations1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11, the intrinsic spectroscopic properties of conjugated polymers in precise conformational and spatial arrangements have remained elusive. The difficulties of obtaining such information are endemic to polymers, which often resist assembly into single crystals or organized structures owing to entropic and polydispersity considerations. Here we show that the conformation of individual polymers and interpolymer interactions in conjugated polymers can be controlled through the use of designed surfactant poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene) Langmuir films. We show that by mechanically inducing reversible conformational changes of these Langmuir monolayers, we can obtain the precise interrelationship of the intrinsic optical properties of a conjugated polymer and a single chain's conformation and/or interpolymer interactions. This method for controlling the structure of conjugated polymers and establishing their intrinsic spectroscopic properties should permit a more comprehensive understanding of fluorescent conjugated materials.

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Figure 1: Conformations and spatial arrangements of polymers 1–4 at the air–water interface and their reversible conversions between face-on, zipper and edge-on structures.
Figure 2: Pressure–area (P–A) isotherms of polymers 1–4 and projected areas from molecular models.
Figure 3: In situ UV–vis. and fluorescence spectra of Langmuir monolayers of polymers 1–4 during cycles of compressions and expansions.
Figure 4: Selected UV–vis. spectra of polymers 1–4 in different structures (face-on, zipper, and edge-on).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Z. Zhu for providing 1,2-didodecyloxy-3,6-diethynylbenzene (building block D), and A. Rose for the lifetime measurements. This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research and Draper Laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering,

    J. Kim

  2. Center for Materials Science and Engineering,

    J. Kim & T. M. Swager

  3. Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 02139, Massachusetts, USA

    T. M. Swager

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  1. J. Kim
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  2. T. M. Swager
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Kim, J., Swager, T. Control of conformational and interpolymer effects in conjugated polymers. Nature 411, 1030–1034 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35082528

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