High-spin polymeric arylamines

High-spin p-doped polyarylamines have been created containing small cluster s (tens) of ferromagnetically coupled unpaired electrons. In these doped po lymers neighbouring spins couple through a pathway analogous to that found in meta-quinodimethane and the spin-carriers are triarylamine radical catio ns. The use of polymers in which the triarylamine radical cation centres ar e stabilized by Ar2N rather than RO substituents gives improved stability b ut much poorer spin-coupling properties. Further more, the much greater eas e of dication (bipolaron) formation makes it difficult to dope these amine- stabilized polymers to the requisite level. Work by other groups exploiting phenoxy and triarlymethyl spin-carriers and the prospects for producing po lymers with much larger clusters of ferromagnetically coupled spins are dis cussed.