Synthesis and electrochemical characterization of fluorene and benzimidazole containing novel conjugated polymers: Effect of alkyl chain length on electrochemical properties

The synthesis and characterization of two donor acceptor type conjugated polymers were investigated. Electrochemical properties were examined by cyclic voltammetry, spectroelectrochemistry and kinetic studies. The increase in the alkyl chain length attached to the fluorene unit was investigated in terms of electrochemical properties. The synthesis was carried out via Stille coupling of 4,7-dibromo-4′-(tert-butyl)spiro[benzo[d]imidazole-2,1′ cyclohexane] and 2,5-bis(tributylstannyl)thiophene with 9,9-dihexyl-9H fluorine (P1) and 9,9-didodecyl-9H fluorene (P2) respectively. Both polymers were neutral state green polymers. They had optical band gaps of 1.55 and 1.47 eV respectively. Increasing the chain length resulted in an increase in solubility and processibility of the polymer. Polymers are multichromic, revealing colors from neutral state green to doped state blue.