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Conjugated polymers with thiophene-fused thiaborin units and their strong intermolecular interactions

Abstract

Boron-incorporated p−π* conjugated polymers have been studied as optoelectronic and sensor materials. p−π* conjugated polymers usually possess bulky aryl groups that kinetically stabilize the boron centers, and the bulky aryl substituents prohibit intermolecular interactions in the solid state, thereby limiting the application of the polymers to semiconductors. In this work, we synthesized a thiophene-fused thiaborin unit as a new building block. The thiaborin monomer was facilely converted into distannyl and diiodo derivatives via lithiation. The p−π* conjugated polymers with the thiaborin unit exhibited well-defined redshifts in the absorption spectra measured in the film state relative to those measured in solution, suggesting strong intermolecular interactions.

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Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP19K15543 and JP22K14666.

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Correspondence to Yohei Adachi or Joji Ohshita.

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Adachi, Y., Sakabe, M., Nomura, T. et al. Conjugated polymers with thiophene-fused thiaborin units and their strong intermolecular interactions. Polym J 55, 489–496 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-022-00726-9

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