SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A CONJUGATED COPOLYMER OF POLY(PHENYLENEVINYLENE) CONTAINING A METALLOPORPHYRIN INCORPORATED INTO THE POLYMER BACKBONE

A chlorine precursor copolymer was synthesized from the monomers 1,4-b is(chloromethyl)-2,5-(dihexyloxy)benzene and the metal complexes ityl) -10,20-bis(4-(chloromethyl)phenyl)-porphyrin] in different ratios with potassium tert-butoxide. The precursor copolymers were readily solubl e in common organic solvents and were characterized by NMR, IR, W-vis, elemental analysis, and TGA. A relatively high molecular weight of th e precursor copolymer was determined by GPC with a polydispersity of a bout similar to 3. The arylenevinylene copolymer film was formed by th ermal conversion and demonstrated higher thermal stability as compared to typical poly(phenylenevinylene)-type polymers. Doping of undrawn f ilms of the copolymer with iodine vapor led to conductivities as high as 2 S cm(-1).