MONOMER REACTIVITY VS REGIOREGULARITY IN POLYTHIOPHENE DERIVATIVES - A JOINT SYNTHETIC AND THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION

Over the past decade, conducting polymers have gained a large interest . From the factors influencing their conductivity, the regioregularity of the chains is one of the greatest importance. A joint experimental and theoretical study on various alkyl-, alkylthio- and alkoxy-substi tuted thiophenes and bithiophenes shows that the reactivity of the mon omer, i.e. the distribution of the unpaired electron pi-spin density o n the different positions of the oxidized monomer, has a significant i nfluence on the regioregularity of the resulting polymers. From all th ese results, it is clear that INDO calculations can be useful as a pre -synthetic tool for the rational design by oxidative polymerization (c hemically or electrochemically) of novel regioregular and non-regioreg ular aromatic polymers.