Surface-initiated polymerization of A–A/B–B type conjugated monomers by palladium-catalyzed Stille polycondensation: towards low band gap polymer brushes

Abstract

A surface-initiated polycondensation which enables access to well-defined core–shell nanoparticles is described. Stille polymerization was initiated from the surface of palladium catalyst-immobilized zinc oxide nanorods. For the first time, a low band gap polymer, poly[(4,4′-bis(2-ethylhexyl)dithieno-[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole)-2,6-diyl-alt-(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)-4,7-diyl] (PSBTBT), was anchored on zinc oxide nanorods to create hybrid materials with tunable photophysical properties.