Synthesis and electrical properties of a novel electrochemically doped vinyl polymer containing quinquethiophene as a pendant group

Summary form only given. For the purpose of developing a novel type of electrically conducting polymers, we have been studying the synthesis and properties of non-conjugated vinyl polymers containing wholly /spl pi/-conjugated linear oligomers as pendant groups. These new polymers are expected to have unique properties characteristic of both the wholly /spl pi/-conjugated linear oligomers and non-conjugated backbone. It is of interest to examine the correlation between the structure of the pendant /spl pi/-conjugated linear oligomers and properties such as electrical and electrochromic properties of the electrochemically doped polymers. We have chosen oligothiophenes with well-defined structures as pendant /spl pi/-conjugated linear oligomers. We report here the synthesis and properties of an electrochemically doped vinyl polymer containing quinquethiophene as a pendant group by electrolytic polymerization of the corresponding monomer in a dichloromethane solution containing Bu/sub 4/NclO/sub 4/. The electrochemically doped, green lustrous polymer is identified as a partially oxidized radical-cation salt with ClO/sub 5/sup -/ as a dopant, as evidenced from the elemental analysis, and electronic and infrared absorption spectra. The polymer exhibited a room-temperature conductivity of ca. 10/sup -5/ S cm/sup -1/.