NHC-PdCatalytic Systems (NHC = N-Heterocyclic Carbene) for the Synthesis of Novel Triarylamine Polymers Containing Fused Heterocyclic Rings

随着使用高性能有机半导体制造的设备和电路的引入，显示器、照明和电子产品的新时代正在开启。机会包括低功耗、大面积照明、用于供应链监控的智能数据标签，以及无处不在的个性化设备，这些设备可穿戴、可打印，并且使用比传统制造设施成本更低的设备进行大量制造。实现这些器件需要高纯度，明确定义的有机半导体具有坚固，高性能。为了有效地满足这些要求，需要开发可扩展的合成路线，以优选地导致所需纯度的材料结构和产品的多样性。过渡金属催化聚合原则上符合要求，但通常使用的商业催化剂或前体并不一定针对组装共轭低聚物和聚合物所需的反应进行优化，因此使用的高负载催化剂可能导致产品中杂质含量显著升高，难以去除。这项建议将启动美国夏威夷大学Oscar Navarro教授的研究小组和英国曼彻斯特大学Mike Turner教授的研究小组之间的合作工作方案。Navarro的团队正在开发新的基于过渡金属的催化系统，用于C-C和C-X键的形成（X = N， O， S）， Turner的团队在共轭低聚物和聚合物的合成、这些材料的表征、溶液处理的配方以及使用这些材料制造OFET和光伏设备方面具有互补的兴趣。本提案的重点是优化制备芳胺和咔唑基聚合物的催化剂系统，并研究所得材料的性能。它将研究这种有机半导体发展的整体方法的好处，并为研究开辟全新的材料类别。

A new era in displays, lighting and electronics is opening with the introduction of devices and circuits fabricated using high performance organic semiconductors. Opportunities include low power consumption, large area lighting, intelligent data tags for supply chain monitoring and ubiquitous, personalised devices that can be wearable, printable and fabricated in large numbers using lower cost facilities than conventional fabrication facilities. Realising these devices requires high purity, well-defined organic semiconductors with robust, high performance. To deliver these requirements efficient, scaleable synthetic routes need to be developed that preferably lead to a diversity of material structures and products of the desired purity. Transition metal catalysed polymerisations in principle meet the requirements but in general commercial catalysts or precursors are employed that are not necessarily optimised for the reactions required to assemble conjugated oligomers and polymers, hence high loadings of catalysts are used that can lead to significant levels of impurities in the products that are difficult to remove. This proposal will initiate a collaborative programme of work between the research group of Professor Oscar Navarro of the University of Hawaii, USA and that of Professor Mike Turner of the University of Manchester, UK. Navarro's group is developing new transition metal-based catalytic systems for C-C and C-X bond formation (X = N, O, S) and Turner's group has complementary interests in the synthesis of conjugated oligomers and polymers, the characterisation of these materials, their formulation for solution processing and the fabrication of OFET and photovoltaic devices using these materials. This proposal focusses on optimising catalyst systems for the preparation of arylamine and carbazole based polymers and investigating the performance of the resulting materials. It will examine the benefits of such a holistic approach to organic semiconductor development and open up entirely new classes of materials for investigation.