Synthesis and characterisation of new copolymers of thiophene and vinylene : poly(thienylenevinylene)s and poly(terthienylenevinylene)s with thioether side chains

Poly[3,4-bis(3-methylbutylthio)thienylenevinylene], poly[3,4-bis-(S)-(2-methylbutylthio)thienylenevinylene], poly[3',4'-bis(3-methylbutylthio)-2,2':5',2¿-terthienylene-5,5¿-vinylene], and poly{3',4'-bis-(S)-[2-methylbutylthio]-2,2':5',2¿-terthienylene-5,5¿-vinylene} have been synthesized. The synthesis starts from the thiophene monomers and trimers, which are formylated to give the corresponding dialdehydes. The dialdehydes are reductively polymerized using a McMurry coupling. The polymers are characterized by GPC, optical spectroscopy (FT-IR, UV-vis, circular dichroism spectroscopy and photoluminescence) and by proton and carbon NMR spectroscopy. The polymers are soluble in common organic solvents, such as THF, chloroform, toluene, benzene and 1,2-dichlorobenzene. The solvatochromism and thermochromism of the polymers in solution are investigated, while the optical activity of the polymers is used to investigate the supramolecular aggregation.