Polyphilic Fluoroalkyl-Substituted Polythiophenes

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The polyphilicity of new fluoroalkyl-substituted polythiophenes provides the means to prepare highly ordered and oriented conjugated organic materials. The combination oftunable electronic properties, solubility, and supramolecular assembly ofsemifluorinated materials allows us to address a number of criteria in the design of conjugated polymersfor use in electronic devices. The study will establish structure-property relationships forthe formation of assemblies in solution, in liquid crystalline mesophases and in the solidstage. In addition, the study of polyphilic polymers will provide insight into developmentof methods to attain control of the orientation of molecules at surfaces, a subject which ispoorly understood at present but one of great importance in the development ofconjugated organic materials for use in devices. We will also explore the nature of thepolyanions (i.e., delocalization, mobility) formed by reduction of conjugated polymerssubstituted by electron withdrawing perfluoroalkyl groups, and the potential forn-channel conduction. Finally, the solubility of fluoroalkyl-substituted conjugated polymersin supercritical carbon dioxide will be investigated to allow for processing of these technologically important materials in a "green solvent".The proposed study will lead to new design motifs which may be applied to other conjugated polymers, a field of intense interest in the development of new electronic, optical and electrooptical technologies. It provides new materials for incorporation into prototypical devices, and will provide new physical insights into the development of ordered and oriented materials. The study provides exceptional opportunities for training of graduate and undergraduate students in a variety of techniques and fields: organic synthesis and characterization, polymerization chemistry, characterization of materials, and device fabrication of characterization. These students will benefit from outstanding facilities and the interdisciplinary environment present on the Georgia Tech campus, as well as the proposed collaboration with Dr. Z. Bao. Both Georgia Tech and the PI's group have a strong record of training graduates from underrepresented minority groups. Researchers will be recruited to this project from the diverse student population present in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech.