Electronic properties of soluble poly(paraphenylene) derivatives

A new class of soluble poly(paraphenylene) derivatives containing functional groups in the polymer backbone have recently been synthesised. We report here the results of preliminary investigations into the effect of the substitution in the backbone on the electronic properties of these materials. Photoluminescence and photoinduced absorption measurements indicate that interchain aggregates form in some of the materials, depending on the nature of the backbone. The susceptibility of the polymers to doping by iodine is found to depend sensitively on their ionisation potential.