Roman Tkachov

On the Role of Single Regiodefects and Polydispersity in Regioregular Poly(3-hexylthiophene): Defect Distribution, Synthesis of Defect-Free Chains, and a Simple Model for the Determination of Crystallinity

Identifying structure formation in semicrystalline conjugated polymers is the fundamental basis to understand electronic processes in these materials. Although correlations between physical properties, structure formation, and device parameters of regioregular, semicrystalline poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) have been established, it has remained difficult to disentangle the influence of regioregularity, polydispersity, and molecular weight. Here we show that the most commonly used synthetic protocol for the synthesis of P3HT, the living Kumada catalyst transfer polycondensation (KCTP) with Ni(dppp)Cl(2) as the catalyst, leads to regioregular chains with one single tail-to-tail (TT) defect distributed over the whole chain, in contrast to the hitherto assumed exclusive location at the chain end. NMR end-group analysis and simulations are used to quantify this effect. A series of entirely defect-free P3HT materials with different molecular weights is synthesized via new, soluble nickel initiators. Data on structure formation in defect-free P3HT, as elucidated by various calorimetric and scattering experiments, allow the development of a simple model for estimating the degree of crystallinity. We find very good agreement for predicted and experimentally determined degrees of crystallinities as high as ∼70%. For Ni(dppp)Cl(2)-initiated chains comprising one distributed TT unit, the comparison of simulated crystallinities with calorimetric and optical measurements strongly suggests incorporation of the TT unit into the crystal lattice, which is accompanied by an increase in backbone torsion. Polydispersity is identified as a major parameter determining crystallinity within the molecular weight range investigated. We believe that the presented approach and results not only contribute to understanding structure formation in P3HT but are generally applicable to other semicrystalline conjugated polymers as well.

“Hairy” Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Particles Prepared via Surface-Initiated Kumada Catalyst-Transfer Polycondensation

Herein, we present a new paradigm in the engineering of nanostructured hybrids between conjugated polymer and inorganic materials via a chain-growth surface-initiated Kumada catalyst-transfer polycondensation (SI-KCTP) from particles. Poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT, a benchmark material for organic electronics, was selectively grown by SI-KCTP from (nano)particles bearing surface-immobilized Ni catalysts supported by bidentate phosphorus ligands, that resulted in hairy (nano)particles with end-tethered P3HT chains. Densely grafted P3HT chains exhibit strongly altered optical properties compared to the untethered counterparts (red shift and vibronic fine structure in absorption and fluorescence spectra), as a result of efficient planarization and chain-aggregation. These effects are observed in solvents that are normally recognized as good solvents for P3HT (e.g., tetrahydrofurane). We attribute this to strong interchain interactions within densely grafted P3HT chains, which can be tuned by changing the surface curvature (or size) of the supporting particle. The hairy P3HT nanoparticles were successfully applied in bulk heterojunction solar cells.

Chain-growth polymerization of unusual anion-radical monomers based on naphthalene diimide: a new route to well-defined n-type conjugated copolymers.

Strongly electron-deficient (n-type) main-chain π-conjugated polymers are commonly prepared via well-established step-growth polycondensation protocols which enable limited control over polymerization. Here we demonstrate that activated Zn and electron-deficient brominated thiophene-naphthalene diimide oligomers form anion-radical complexes instead of conventional Zn-organic derivatives. These highly unusual zinc complexes undergo Ni-catalyzed chain-growth polymerization leading to n-type conjugated polymers with controlled molecular weight, relatively narrow polydispersities, and specific end-functions.

Palladium‐Catalyzed Chain‐Growth Polycondensation of AB‐type Monomers: High Catalyst Turnover and Polymerization Rates

Chain-growth catalyst-transfer polycondensations of AB-type monomers is a new and rapidly developing tool for the preparation of well-defined π-conjugated (semiconducting) polymers for various optoelectronic applications. Herein, we report the Pd/PtBu3-catalyzed Negishi chain-growth polycondensation of AB-type monomers, which proceeds with unprecedented TONs of above 100,000 and TOFs of up to 280 s(-1). In contrast, related AA/BB-type step-growth polycondensation proceeds with two orders of magnitude lower TONs and TOFs. A similar trend was observed in Suzuki-type polycondensation. The key impact of the intramolecular (vs. intermolecular) catalyst-transfer process on both polymerization kinetics and catalyst lifetime has been revealed.

Dithienosilole-based all-conjugated block copolymers synthesized by a combination of quasi-living Kumada and Negishi catalyst-transfer polycondensations

Herein, we present a quasi-living Negishi-type catalyst-transfer polycondensation of a zinc–organic DTS-based monomer which provides an access to narrowly distributed poly(4,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole (PDTS) with controlled molecular weight. The synthesis of well-defined all-conjugated diblock copolymers containing a PDTS block was accomplished by a combination of Kumada and Negishi catalyst-transfer polycondensations (KCTP and NCTP, respectively). Particularly, it was shown that living P3HT chains obtained by KCTP of magnesium–organic thiophene-based monomer efficiently initiate NCTP of zinc–organic DTS-based monomer. The purity of the DTS-based monomer was found to be a crucial factor for achieving a clean chain-growth polymerization process. A combination of physico-chemical methods was used to prove the success of the block copolymerization.

Chain-growth polycondensation of perylene diimide-based copolymers: a new route to regio-regular perylene diimide-based acceptors for all-polymer solar cells and n-type transistors

Herein, we report the chain-growth tin-free room temperature polymerization method to synthesize n-type perylene diimide-dithiophene-based conjugated polymers (PPDIT2s) suitable for solar cell and transistor applications. The palladium/electron-rich tri-tert-butylphosphine catalyst is effective to enable the chain-growth polymerization of anion-radical monomer Br-TPDIT-Br/Zn to PPDIT2 with a molecular weight up to Mw ≈ 50 kg mol−1 and moderate polydispersity. This is the second example of the polymerization of unusual anion-radical aromatic complexes formed in a reaction of active Zn and electron-deficient diimide-based aryl halides. As such, the discovered polymerization method is not a specific reactivity feature of the naphthalene-diimide derivatives but is rather a general polymerization tool. This is an important finding, given the significantly higher maximum external quantum efficiency that can be reached with PDI-based copolymers (32–45%) in all-polymer solar cells compared to NDI-based materials (15–30%). Our studies revealed that PPDIT2 synthesized by the new method and the previously published polymer prepared by step-growth Stille polycondensation show similar electron mobility and all-polymer solar cell performance. At the same time, the polymerization reported herein has several technological advantages as it proceeds relatively fast at room temperature and does not involve toxic tin-based compounds. Because several chain-growth polymerization reactions are well-suited for the preparation of well-defined multi-functional polymer architectures, the next target is to explore the utility of the discovered polymerization in the synthesis of end-functionalized polymers and block copolymers. Such materials would be helpful to improve the nanoscale morphology of polymer blends in all-polymer solar cells.

Influence of Semiconductor Thickness and Molecular Weight on the Charge Transport of a Naphthalenediimide-Based Copolymer in Thin-Film Transistors

The N-type semiconducting polymer, P(NDI2OD-T2), with different molecular weights (MW=23, 72, and 250 kg/mol) was used for the fabrication of field-effect transistors (FETs) with different semiconductor layer thicknesses. FETs with semiconductor layer thicknesses from ∼15 to 50 nm exhibit similar electron mobilities (μs) of 0.2-0.45 cm2 V(-1) s(-1). Reduction of the active film thickness led to decreased μ values; however, FETs with ∼2 and ∼5 nm thick P(NDI2OD-T2) films still exhibit substantial μs of 0.01-0.02 and ∼10(-4) cm2 V(-1) s(-1), respectively. Interestingly, the lowest molecular weight sample (P-23, MW≈23 kg/mol, polydispersity index (PDI)=1.9) exhibited higher μ than the highest molecular weight sample (P-250, MW≈250 kg/mol, PDI=2.3) measured for thicker devices (15-50 nm). This is rather unusual behavior because typically charge carrier mobility increases with MW where improved grain-to-grain connectivity usually enhances transport events. We attribute this result to the high crystallinity of the lowest MW sample, as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction studies, which may (over)compensate for other effects.

Copolymerization of zinc-activated isoindigo- and naphthalene-diimide based monomers: an efficient route to low bandgap π-conjugated random copolymers with tunable properties

The present work aims at the extension of the scope of a recently discovered polycondensation of AB-type anion-radical monomers. To this end, we investigate the polymerization of isoindigo-based monomer and its copolymerization with the naphthalenediimide-based monomer. Although polycondensations of parent naphthalenediimide- and perylenediimide-based monomers involve chain-growth mechanism, we found that the corresponding isoindigo-based monomer polymerizes in a step-growth manner under the same reaction conditions. In contrast to Stille, Suzuki and direct arylation polycondensations which require prolonged stirring at high temperatures, the polymerization approach we employed in this study proceeds fast at room temperature. It was found that near statistical copolymerization of isoindigo-based anion-radical monomers with corresponding naphtalenediimide-based monomers proceeds smoothly resulting in a library of copolymers with varying composition and properties depending on the ratio of the monomers.