Densely grafted liquid crystalline copper phthalocyanine side chain polymer: synthesis and characterization

Abstract

A new polymeric donor material with pendant copper phthalocyanine side chains (PCuPc) was synthesized. The excellent suitability of a grafting-to approach, combining the controlled radical polymerization of propargyloxystyrene followed by “click” chemistry, was demonstrated. A polymer with a high molecular weight (M_n = 88 000 g mol⁻¹) and a narrow distribution Đ = 1.20 was synthesized. FTIR and high resolution MALDI-ToF MS of PCuPc points towards quantitative grafting. The PCuPC is soluble in most of the commonly used solvents such as ethyl acetate, THF and acetone. The absorption behavior and electronic structure was investigated via UV-Vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The thermal behavior could be elucidated via Flash-DSC and liquid crystalline behavior could be observed and confirmed via XRD and polarization microscopy. The Bulk transport was determined by the SCLC method.