Aryltriazene photopolymers for UV-laser applications:: Improved synthesis and photodecomposition study

An improved synthesis of photosensitive homopolymers containing aryltriazene chromophores covalently incorporated into the polymer backbone is reported. Such photopolymers proved to have promising properties for novel UV-laser applications. A homologous series of new aryltriazene polymers with increasingly branched side chains (R=Me, Et, iPr, tBu) was synthesized and characterized. Homogeneous thin films with thicknesses from approximate to 15 to > 150 nm were prepared by spin-coating. Photodecomposition was studied in solution and on thin films. Polymers with increasingly branched and bulky substituents showed decreasing photodissociation rates. NMR studies suggested an enhanced hindrance of the N(2)-N(3) bond rotation in the aryltriazene moiety with increasing steric demand of the substituents.