Towards stimuli responsive conjugated polymer systems

近年来，刺激响应性聚合物引起了人们极大的兴趣。这种聚合物通过其物理或化学性质的相对突然的变化来响应其环境的变化。已经开发了响应于一系列刺激（例如温度、机械力、pH和各种生物标志物）的聚合物材料，用于一系列应用，例如传感、药物递送、选择性捕获和释放等等。最近，人们一直在努力开发通过在聚合物主链内组合几种不同的官能度来选择性地响应多种刺激的材料。这种材料可以实现更复杂的应用，通常被归类为智能材料。这种智能材料的一种潜在的有吸引力的途径是将共轭聚合物的迷人的光电性质（其可以包括高导电性、光吸收和荧光）与可以对其环境作出响应的刺激响应聚合物的光电性质结合联合收割机。该项目的重点是通过将刺激响应性聚合物接枝到共轭聚合物的主链上来合成和表征此类材料。

Stimuli-responsive polymers have attracted significant interest in recent years. Such polymers respond to changes in their environment by a relatively abrupt change in their physical or chemical properties. Polymeric materials responsive to a range of stimuli, such as temperature, mechanical force, pH, and various biomarkers have been developed for use in a range of applications such as sensing, drug delivery, selective capture and release and many more. More recently there has been a drive to develop materials which are selectively responsive to multiple stimuli, by combining several different functionalities within the polymer backbone. Such materials can enable more complex applications and are often classed as smart materials. One potentially attractive route to such smart materials would be to combine the fascinating optoelectronic properties of a conjugated polymer, which can include high conductivity, light absorption and fluorescence, with those of a stimuli responsive polymer which can respond to its environment. This project is focussed on the synthesis and characterisation of such materials, via the grafting of stimuli-responsive polymers to the backbone of a conjugated polymer.