Polymers Containing Nickel(II) Complexes of Goedken's Macrocycle: Optimized Synthesis and Electrochemical Characterization

The synthesis and characterization of a new class of nickel-containing polymers is described. The optimized copolymerization of alkyne-bearing nickel(II) complexes of Goedken's macrocycle (4,11-dihydro-5,7,12,14-tetramethyldibenzo[b,i][1,4,8,11]tetraazacyclotetradecine) and brominated 9,9-dihexylfluorene produced polymers with potential application as functional redox-active materials. The title polymers exhibit electrochemically reversible, ligand-centered oxidation events at 0.24 and 0.73 V versus the ferrocene/ferrocenium redox couple. They also display exceptional thermal stability and interesting absorption properties due to the presence of the macrocyclic nickel(II) complexes and π-conjugated units incorporated in their backbones.