Controlling the macromolecular architecture of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s by alternating alkyl and fluoroalkyl substituents

Substituting alternating thiophene units of polythiophene with hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon side chains affords a hydrophobic amphiphilic polymer which assembles into a lamellar structure. Simply evaporating a solution of this polymer provides a highly oriented sample with the polymer chains oriented along the film and the plane of the conjugated backbone perpendicular to the interface. The amphiphilic nature of the repeat units affords a bilayer-type packing, as opposed to a monolayer motif adopted by the hydrocarbon analogue.