The aza-Wittig polymerization: An efficient method for the construction of carbon-nitrogen double bonds-containing polymers

A novel and efficient polymerization method based on the aza-Wittig reaction was developed for the construction of carbon-nitrogen double bonds-containing polymers. In contrast to the conventional diamines/dialdehydes polycondensation system, the reactivity of the aza-Wittig polymerization was easily tunable only by changing the steric and electronic features of phosphines employed. The obtained π-conjugated poly(azomethine)s here consisted of only one trans conformation, which is consistent with the previous reported paper employing the theoretical study of the aza-Wittig reaction. Moreover, it was found that the aza-Wittig polymerization can also be applied not only to the aromatic and aliphatic diazido-containing compounds but also to the heteroatomcontaining diazido monomers. © 2008 American Chemical Society.