Conjugated Polymers à la Carte from Time-Controlled Direct (Hetero)Arylation Polymerization

Thomas Bura1,  Pierre-Olivier Morin1,  Bin Sun2,  Yuning Li2,  Mario Leclerc1
1Université LAVAL, 2University Waterloo


Abstract

Direct (hetero)arylation polymerization (DHAP) shows great promise for simple, cheap, and environmentally benign preparation of conjugated polymers, but seems to involve a lack of selectivity when different aromatic C− H bonds are present. We report that some time-controlled DHAP reactions can yield well-defined and processable semiconducting polymers. Following these procedures, various aromatic compounds have been efficiently polymerized, including 2,7-dibromofluorene, 2,7 dibromocarbazole, 1,4-dibromobenzene, bithiophene, dithienyl-benzothiadiazole, and diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives. All resulting polymers have shown comparable, if not slightly better, properties than their Stille- and Suzuki-synthesized analogs. These findings (re)open the door for the low-cost production of many conjugated polymers for plastic electronics.