A comprehensive analysis of the thermal elimination reaction in a poly(p-phenylene vinylene) precursor

Sulfonium precursor routes are the most popular synthetic routes to light-e mitting poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) thin films. These routes involve a high-temperature solid-state thermal elimination reaction which yields PPV from its water-soluble precursor. The quality of PPV and hence its ultimat e properties have a strong dependence on the polymerization parameters and thermal elimination conditions. The elimination reaction remains less under stood. In this report, ie have qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed th e thermal elimination reaction using TGA, DSC, MTGA, TG-IR and transmission IR. The qualitative analysis focuses on identification of the underlying r eactions and establishing the reaction sequence and reaction mechanisms. Th e quantitative analysis, on the other hand, focuses on the determination of the kinetic parameters of these reactions. The effect of heating rate and reaction environment on the luminescent properties of PPV have also been in vestigated.