Synthesis and characterization of poly(pyridine vinylene) via the sulfinylprecursor route

The synthesis and characterization of poly(pyridine vinylene) (PPyV) via th e nonionic sulfinyl precursor route is presented. Starting from an unsymmet rical monomer, precursor polymers were prepared in various solvents, which led to polymers with variable molecular weights. The thermal conversion to the conjugated structure, as well as its stability, was studied with differ ent techniques such as FT-IR, UV-vis, TGA, and direct insertion probe mass spectroscopy (DIP-MS). From these results we were able to derive the most s uitable conditions to perform the conversion. The fully conjugated PPyV was further characterized with photoluminescence (PL) and cyclic voltammetry ( CV) measurements. The PL efficiency was found to be as high as 14%. The CV measurements showed that the polymer can be reduced (n-doped).