Effective conjugation in conjugated polymers with strongly twisted backbones: A case study on fluorinated MEHPPV

Conjugated polymers with strongly twisted backbones, such as MEHPPV with fluorinated vinylene units (F-MEHPPV), demand a redefinition of the all-important ‘effective conjugation length’ ECL, which we extract here by a facile graphical method. In MEHPPV (being essentially planar), the ECL coincides with the ‘maximum conducive chain length’ MCC and extends over about n ≈ 9 repetition units (RU). In F-MEHPPV, the MCC is similarly long with n ≈ 8, but the ECL localizes on just one RU. The strong twist in F-MEHPPV persists in the excited state, broadening the emission spectrum and quenching the fluorescence with reduced radiative and enhanced non-radiative rates.

ELECTROPOLYMERIZATION OF NOVEL BENZOFULVENES FOR FLEXIBLE ELECTROCHROMIC DEVICES

Novel benzofulvenes-based polymers: Characterization and employment in flexible electrochromic devices

Benzofulvenes-based monomers have been synthesized for the first time and have been polymerized by means of electrochemical methods onto different electrodic materials. Morphological investigation has been performed by using SEM; electrical and optical properties have been studied by means of both cyclic voltammetry, optical absorption and spectroelectrochemical techniques. Finally, solid state electrochromic devices have been fabricated. They have displayed high optical contrast.