Glass-forming 1,3-bis(carbazol-9-yl)propan-2-ol based monomers and polymers

Abstract Three glass-forming 1,3-bis(carbazol-9-yl)propan-2-ol based monomers, i.e. oxirane, thiirane and oxetane were synthesized. Photopolymerization of their solid amorphous layers initiated with diphenyliodonium tetrafluoroborate and the dark polymerization in solutions initiated with boron trifluoride etherate were performed. The number-average molecular weights of the obtained polymers are in the range of 1000–19,400. The highest initial polymerization rate, the highest limit conversion and the highest molecular weight were observed for the polymerization of thiirane. Optical, photophysical, electrochemical and thermal properties of the synthesized compounds were studied. UV and fluorescence spectra of the compounds have the similar profiles, due to the presence of the same chromophore. No excimer emission was observed neither for dilute solutions of monomers nor polymers. The electrochemical coupling was observed for all the synthesized 1,3-bis(carbazol-9-yl)propan-2-ol based monomers and polymers by cyclic voltammetry. The thermal degradation of the derivatives of 1,3-bis(carbazol-9-yl)propan-2-ol derivatives starts in the range of the temperatures from 317 to 402. The glass transition temperatures of the monomers range from 43 to 58 while glass transition temperatures of the polymers are in the range of 103–125.