Synthesis and properties of poly(phenylacetylene)s with pendant imino groups

Summary

Polymerization of phenylacetylenes containing imino groups with a variety of transition metal catalysts was investigated. The monomers employed were N-(4-ethynylbenzylidene)aniline (1), N-(3-ethynylbenzylidene)aniline (2), N-(4-ethynylbenzylidene)-2,6-diisopropylaniline (3), N-(4-ethynylbenzylidene)-4-hexylaniline (4), N-(4-ethynylbenzylidene)butylamine (5), and N-(4-ethynylbenzylidene)octylamine (6). All of the monomers smoothly polymerized with [(nbd)RhCl]₂-Et₃N to give polymers in excellent yields, whereas no polymerization took place with W, Mo, and Fe catalysts. The produced polymers were orange to red solids and soluble in common organic solvents except for poly(1). UV-vis spectra of the polymers indicated that the main chains possess a similar degree of conjugation to that of poly(phenylacetylene). However, the stability of polymer backbone toward oxidative cleavage in solution remarkably improved, which is contributed by the electron-withdrawing character of imino groups.