Photophysical aspects and conformational issues of conjugated polymers

Chromism, attributed to the family of conjugated polymers, is no doubt due to conformational changes of the conjugated backbone. The mechanism responsible for this transition remains, however, poorly understood despite being the subject of numerous papers. In this paper, photophysical investigations are made in an effort to elucidate the driving force(s) behind this mechanism. It is argued that this mechanism is a single-chain effect, whilst it involves an intrachain collapse to adopt a quasi-microcrystalline nature existing in solution.