GRAFTING OF BUCKMINSTERFULLERENE ONTO POLYTHIOPHENE - NOVEL INTRAMOLECULAR DONOR-ACCEPTOR POLYMERS

Conjugated polymer-fullerene composites have shown efficient photoindu ced charge transfer. The attachment of a fullerene moiety to the condu cting polymer backbone is expected to lead to materials with more inti mate association of the donor/acceptor sites, Two approaches to the at tachment of fullerenes onto polythiophene derivatives have been explor ed. In the first cast, fullerene has been bonded to a bithiophene deri vative which can be electropolymerized. In the second, solvent process able polythiophene copolymers were prepared and functionalized with fu llerene. Both these systems exhibit electrochemical and optoelectroche mical properties for fullerene and the conducting polymer. (C) 1998 El sevier Science B.V.