Project description
Novel functionalised polymers will spur innovative applications in organic electronics
Over the last decade, polymeric thin films for organic electronics have been generating increasing interest. Conjugated polymers, organic macromolecules with a backbone chain of alternating single and double bonds, have a unique structure that can result in interesting optical and electronic properties. For these reasons, they are used in diverse applications including transistors, photovoltaic cells, light-emitting diodes, data storage, batteries and sensors. Unfortunately, many of such materials lack good processability. The EU-funded MP3 project is developing novel techniques for the synthesis of conjugated polymers and their use in ultra-thin film organic electronics. The developed methods will overcome many of the current limitations in fabrication, leading to diverse patterns and architectures as well as applications ranging from sensing and healthcare to electrode materials.
Objective
In this proposal, I introduce a new approach for the synthesis of conjugated polymers comprising anthraquinone and anthracene units in the molecular backbone and their use in ultra-thin film organic electronics. The preparation of these materials is possible via a common multi-potent precursor polymer obtained easily from anthraquinone via nucleophilic attack of an acetylide on the 9,10 position (yielding in a propargyl alcohol fragment) and subsequent polymerization via classic aromatic polymerization routes. Such precursor – whose chemical and processability properties can be tuned by modification of the propargyl alcohol moiety – yields both the final fully-conjugated anthraquinone and anthracene polymers by loss of acetylene or reduction respectively. In this way it is possible to overcome the limitation often fund in the synthesis of high-molecular weight fully-conjugated polymers.
Moreover, one can introduce responsive functionalities to trigger the last step using diverse chemical, thermal, and photo stimuli, therefore allowing the realization of fine patterns and architectures via ink-printing, laser writing, and lithographic approaches. I propose to apply this methodology for the realization of ultra-thin inherently-conformable organic electronics devices that can find use in sensing, healthcare, and as electrode materials. Thanks to the orthogonality of the transformations introduced above, the approach described herein allows the preparation of up to three different phases from a single processable material, thus increasing the level of complexity achievable in thin-layer devices.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
16163 Genova
Italy