Synthesis and photophysical properties of a novel semiconducting polymer

An alternating copolymer containing triphenylamine (TPA) and cyano-substituted benzene moieties, TPA-CNPPV was synthesized using the Wittig reaction. The monomers and polymer were characterized by H-NMR, FT-IR and mass spectroscopy (MS). The polymer shows good solubility in common organic solvents and excellent film-forming ability. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrates that the polymer has a degradation temperature (TD) of 600°C; differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) result indicates that the glass transition temperature (Tg) of TPA-CNPPV is 160°C, suggesting high thermal stability. The photophysical properties of the light-emitting material were investigated in both solution and spin-coated film. Photo-isomerization of the polymer was investigated by UV-vis and fluorescence spectra. The interaction between TPA-CNPPV and C60 was studied by fluorescence quenching. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.