Removal of Solubilizing Side Chains at Low Temperature: A New Route to Native Poly(thiophene)

Removal of solubilizing side chains at low temperature is discussed as a new route to native poly(thiophene). Many agents were employed for the removal of the silane including trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH), tetrabutylammonium-fluoride (TBAF), and the acids: HBr, HCl, trichloroacitic acid (TCA), and dichloroacitic acid (DCA). In the case of PT arrived at through the thermal route, very dense films are obtained and the question of whether a low-temperature method such as the one we present here would yield a dense or a porous film was thus investigated. The data show a clear increase in density of the film when washed, from 1.0 g/cm 3 for PDMOST to 1.2 g/cm 3 for the native PT film, and a reduction in film thickness from 127 to 49 nm. The removal of side chains corresponds to a mass loss of 57%, and with the concomitant reduction in thickness, this should result in a film density of 1.1 g/cm 3 for an initial density of 1.0 g/cm 3.