5.1 Variation of Functional Groups That Can be Attached to the External Initiator . . . . 20
5.2 Initiation of Polymers from Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.3 Exploration of Different Polymer Architectures Using External Initiation . . . . . . . . . . 24
6 Summary, Conclusions, and Outlook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Abbreviations
acac
Acetylacetonate
Ar
Aryl
Bn
Benzyl
bpy
2,2
0 -Bipyridyl
Bu
Butyl
cat
Catalyst
cod
1,5-Cyclooctadiene
Cp
Cyclopentadienyl
dppb
Bis(diphenylphosphino)benzene
dppe
Bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane
dppf
Bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene
dppp
Bis(diphenylphosphino)propane
Et
Ethyl
HF
Hydrofluoric acid
ITO
Indium tin oxide
LDA
Lithium diisopropylamide
Me
Methyl
NBS
N-Bromosuccinimide
NCS
N-Chlorosuccinimide
P3AT Poly(3-alkylthiophene)
P3HT Poly(3-hexylthiophene)
P3MT Poly(3-methylthiophene)
PDI
Polydispersity index
Ph
Phenyl
PPh 3
Triphenylphosphine
TFA
Trifluoroacetic acid
THF
Tetrahydrofuran
1 Introduction
Conjugated polymers have garnered significant research attention since the discovery of highly conductive polyacetylene by Shirakawa. The semiconducting properties of these materials and their solution processability raised visions of
production of flexible electronic devices using roll-to-roll processing technologies
at low cost. Further advantages of conjugated polymers, such as their light weight
and corrosion resistance as compared to inorganic semiconductors, promoted
2
P. Sista and C.K. Luscombe