Conducting Polymers Derived from Novel Electron Rich Condensed Heterocycles

该奖项由化学部门的特别项目办公室和材料研究部门的聚合物项目颁发，继续支持佛罗里达大学的Reynolds教授和Katritzky教授的研究。本研究的目的是设计、合成和表征由吲哚咔唑、双（噻吩）苯、双（吡咯）萘和双吲哚等取代缩合杂环制备的富电子导电聚合物。这些选定的单体易于电聚合。重复单元内产生的平面性和较低的氧化还原开关电位将使聚合物在氧化掺杂和高导电性时非常稳定。悬垂取代基将加入到聚合物中以控制聚合物的物理性质。烷基取代将促进溶解性和加工性。极性取代基将被纳入以增强聚合物与电解质的相互作用和离子在氧化还原开关过程中的传输。烷基磺酸取代将用于诱导水溶性，并将导致一个新的家族的自掺杂导电聚合物。在导电表面上形成的电聚合聚合物可以很容易地在氧化还原状态之间切换，从而产生高度可控的物理和电子性能，如电导率、离子含量、体积和颜色。这些材料很可能在电致变色器件、离子释放电极、生物传感器和换能器中得到应用。新结构的设计、合成和表征将促进对导电聚合物结构-性能关系的基本理解。

This award, made in the Special Projects Office of the Chemistry Division and the Polymers Program in the Division of Materials Research continues support for the research of Professors Reynolds and Katritzky at the University of Florida. The goal of the research is to design, synthesize and characterize electron-rich conducting polymers prepared from substituted condensed heterocycles including indolocarbazoles, bis(thieno)-benzenes, bis(pyrrolo)naphthalenes and bisindoles. These selected monomers lend themselves to facile electropolymerization. The planarity induced within the repeat unit and the low redox switching potentials will make the polymers quite stable when oxidatively doped and highly conducting. Pendant substituents will be incorporated onto the polymers to control polymer physical properties. Alkyl substitution will facilitate solubility and processibility. Polar substituents will be incorporated to enhance polymer interactions with electrolyte and ion-transport during redox switching. Alkyl sulfonate substitution will be used to induce water solubility and will lead to a new family of self-doped conducting polymers. Electropolymerized polymers formed on conducting surfaces can be easily switched between redox states resulting in highly controllable physical and electonic properties such as conductivity, ion content, volume and color. These materials are likely to find application in electrochromic devices, ion release electrodes, biosensors and transducers. The design, synthesis and characterization of new structures will advance the fundamental understanding of structure-property relationships in conducting polymers.