All Conjugated Poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(hexyl-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Copolymers

In the present work, poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(hexyl-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (P3HT-b-PEDOT-C-6) copolymer was synthesized by Kumada catalyst transfer polymerization (KCTP) by using 1:1 molar ratio of the corresponding monomers. For comparison purpose homopolymers, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(hexyl-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT-C-6) were obtained by using the conditions described for the block polymer. These polymers were obtained via chain-growth mechanism using a catalytic amount of (0.03 molar equivalent) Ni(dppp)Cl-2 in tetrahydrofuran (THF) in high yield after Soxhlet extraction. The synthesized block copolymer and homopolymers were well characterized by using (HNMR)-H-1, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and FT-IR spectroscopy. The optoelectronic properties of these copolymer and homopolymers were measured by using UV-vis-NIR spectra and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The thermal stability and surface morphology of these polymers were studied by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The experimental results clearly indicated that the block copolymer show significantly different properties compared to their constituent homopolymers, which may be a potential member for optoelectronic applications.