Synthesis and characterization of a conjugated copolymer of poly(phenylenevinylene) containing a metalloporphyrin incorporated into the polymer backbone

A chlorine precursor copolymer was synthesized from the monomers 1,4-bis(chloromethyl)-2,5-(dihexyloxy)benzene and the metal complexes [5,15-bis(mesityl)-10,20-bis(4-(chloromethyl)phenyl)-porphyrin] in different ratios with potassium tert-butoxide. The precursor copolymers were readily soluble in common organic solvents and were characterized by NMR, IR, W-vis, elemental analysis, and TGA. A relatively high molecular weight of the precursor copolymer was determined by GPC with a polydispersity of about similar to 3. The arylenevinylene copolymer film was formed by thermal conversion and demonstrated higher thermal stability as compared to typical poly(phenylenevinylene)-type polymers. Doping of undrawn films of the copolymer with iodine vapor led to conductivities as high as 2 S cm(-1).