The synthesis, physicochemical properties, and electrochemical polymerization of fluorene-based derivatives as precursors for conjugated polymers

Two novel monomers, 2,7-bis[(thien-2-yl)cyanovinyl]-9,9-dipentylfluorene (FPT) and 2,7-bis-[(2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-b][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)cyanovinyl]-9,9-dipentylfluorene (FPE) are synthesized and their electrochemical polymerization is achieved via potentiostatic methods. The corresponding polymers, poly(2,7-bis[(thien-2-yl)cyanovinyl]-9,9-dipentylfluorene) (PFPT) and poly(2,7-bis[(2,3-dihydrothieno[3,44][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)cyanovinyl]-9,9-dipentylfluorene) (PFPE), are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, FT-IR, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The band gap values (E-g) of the polymers are found to be 2.21 and 1.92 eV for PEPT and PFPE, respectively. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.