Synthesis of poly(3-hexylthiophene)s containing amide groups

Abstract

Poly(3-alkylthiophene) (P3AT) is one of conducting polymers having many strengths like high electron mobility, low band gap and thermal stability. To control the properties of poly(3-alkyl thiophene), many different types of structural modification of poly(3-alkyl thiophene) have been made. End group modification of P3AT becomes an important issue because the reactive functional end group can be used for preparation of block and graft copolymer containing P3AT. Also, P3AT undergoes self-assembly under suitable conditions, leading to formation of three-dimensional structural orders by $\pi-\pi$ stacking. In this study, carboxyl-terminated P3HT was synthesized by Ni catalyzed controlled polymerization followed by thiol-ene reaction. The carboxyl-terminated P3HTs were transformed to linear P3HTs containing amide bonds to induce intermolecular hydrogen bondings.