Synthesis of Conjugated Polymers by Sustainable Suzuki Polycondensation in Water and under Aerobic Conditions
Alessandro Sanzone, Adiel Calascibetta, Mauro Monti, Sara Mattiello, Mauro Sassi, Francesca Corsini, Gianmarco Griffini, Michael Sommer, Luca Beverina
Abstract
Conjugated semiconducting polymers are key materials enabling plastic (opto)electronic devices. Research in the field has a generally strong focus on the constant improvement of backbone structure and the resulting properties. Comparatively fewer studies are devoted to improving the sustainability of the synthetic route that leads to a material under scrutiny. Exemplified by the two established and commercially available luminescent polymers poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-bithiophene) (PF8T2) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole) (PF8BT), this work describes the first examples of efficient Suzuki-Miyaura polycondensations in water, under ambient environment, with minimal amount of organic solvent and with moderate heating. The synthetic approach enables a reduction of the E-factor (mass of organic waste/mass of product) by 1 order of magnitude, without negatively affecting molecular weight, dispersity, chemical structure, or photochemical stability of PF8T2 or PF8BT.