RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CONTROLLED SYNTHESIS AND MANIPULATION OF ELECTROACTIVE ORGANIC POLYMERS

This paper is concerned with making and manipulating conjugated polyme rs and studying their properties, particularly their behaviour when in corporated as the active components of a field effect transistor/elect ro-optic switch or a light emitting diode device structure. Two exampl es will be discussed. In the first we will show how the Durham precurs or route to polyacetylene can be manipulated via the use of living pol ymerization techniques using well defined Schrock ROMP initiators to p roduce a self-ordering polyene precursor which gives significantly imp roved charge carrier mobilities and device performance. The second top ic discussed will concern recent work on the application of McMurray c oupling to the synthesis of electroluminescent poly(arylene vinylene)s .