Effect of intrachain order on the chiroptical properties of chiral poly(p-phenylene vinylenes)

A series of 11 chiral dialkoxy substituted poly(p-phenylene vinylene)s has been synthesized to investigate the effect of the regioregularity of the substitution pattern on the chiroptical properties of these materials in thin films. Regioregularly substituted chiral PPV derivatives exhibit a strong optical activity in the π-π* transition of the polymer backbone. A marked decrease in optical activity is observed for regioirregularly substituted polymers as a result of a decreased degree of interchain order in the morphology of thin films.