Synthesis and photoluminescence of linear and hyperbranched polyethers containing phenylquinoxaline units and flexible aliphatic spacers

Ultrahigh-molecular-weight linear polyethers were prepared through a reaction between the phenylquinoxaline monomers 2,3-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-6-fluoroquinoxaline and 2,3-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-6-(alpha,alpha,alpha-trifluoromethyl)quinoxaline and 1,12-dibromododecane. A new hyperbranched polyether containing a phenylquinoxaline moiety was also prepared from a new self-polymerizable AB(2) monomer, 2,3-bis(6-bromohexyloxyphenyl)-6-(4-hydroxyphenyloxy)quinoxaline. All the polyethers were amorphous and soluble in polar aprotic solvents. Their solution-cast thin films were light yellow, ductile, and optically transparent. The polymers were thermally stable up to 350 degreesC and had glass-transition temperatures in the range of 25-83 degreesC, which depended on the architecture and monomer structure. The monomers and polymers displayed fluorescence maxima in the blue-light region in the range of 431-449 nm with relatively narrow peak widths; this indicated that they had pure and intense fluorescence. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.