Polymerization of acrylates based on n-type organic semiconductors using Cu(0)-RDRP

Three acrylic monomers have been prepared based on organic semiconductor motifs commonly used as n-type materials in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). Facile room-temperature polymerizations were developed for these materials based on Cu(0) reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP), providing polymers with polydispersities as low as 1.14 at conversions up to 97%. Under these conditions, these materials display first-order polymerization kinetics up to high conversions of 92-97%. The optical, electrochemical and thermal properties for each of these n-type materials are also described. These methods provide a simple and inexpensive route to well-defined polymeric n-type organic semiconductors with potential applications in organic electronic devices.