SYNTHESIS AND PROCESSING OF HETEROCYCLIC POLYMERS AS ELECTRONIC, OPTOELECTRONIC, AND NONLINEAR OPTICAL-MATERIALS .1. NEW CONJUGATED RIGID-ROD BENZOBISTHIAZOLE POLYMERS

New conjugated rigid-rod polymers, poly(benzobisthiazole) (PBBT), poly(benzobisthiazole-2,6-diylvinylene) (PBTV), and poly(benzobisthiazole-2,6-diyldivinylene) (PBTDV), have been synthesized, and their structures and optical properties have been characterized, and they have been processed into thin films from their soluble coordination complexes. The molecular structure of the polymers was established by solution H-1 NMR spectra and infrared spectra of thin films or solid samples. The optical bandgap of the new polymers was in the range 2.07-2.34 eV, which is 0.14-0.41 eV smaller than the well-known nonlinear optical polymer poly(p-phenylenebenzobisthiazole) (PBZT). The solution processability and improved intrinsic electronic properties of the new polymers suggest that they have potential for electronic, optoelectronic, and nonlinear optical applications.