Donor-mediated band gap reduction in a homologous series of conjugated polymers

A family of six donor-acceptor-donor monomers was synthesized using combinations of thiophene, 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene and 3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole as donor moieties, and cyanovinylene as the acceptor moiety, to understand the effects of modified donor ability on the optoelectronic and redox properties of the resulting electropolymerized materials. Spectroelectrochemistry, differential pulse voltammetry, and cyclic voltammetry results indicate band gaps ranging from 1.1 to 1.6 eV and suggest that these polymers can be both p-type and n-type doped at accessible potentials. In situ conductivity results indicate that the n-type conductivity magnitude is modest, and the conductivity profile indicates a redox conductivity mechanism as opposed to a delocalized electronic band mechanism as observed for p-type doping.