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Phenoxazine and diketopyrrolopyrrole based donor-acceptor conjugated polymers: synthesis and optical properties

Abstract

While numerous phenoxazine-based small molecules developed for organic electronic devices, very limited attention has been received on synthesized conjugated polymers containing this phenoxazine. Herein, we designed and synthesized two new low-bandgap donor−acceptor conjugated copolymers based on phenoxazine with different side chains and diketopyrrolopyrrole by Pd-catalyzed direct (hetero)arylation polycondensation using a Pd(OAc)2 catalyst and PCy3.HBF4 ligand. The effects of side chain branched alkyl and benzoyl of phenoxazine on the thermal, and optical properties of the polymers have been investigated. Both the polymers have a good yield 85%, high molecular weight up to 41500 g/mol, low dispersity index 1.91, excellent solubility in common organic solvents, and a broad absorption spectrum in the range of 500-900 nm with optical bandgaps as low as 1.40 eV. All these polymers possess good thermal stability with decomposition temperatures over 350 oC and no obvious thermal transitions.

Keywords:
conjugated polymer; donor−acceptor polymer; phenoxazine; diketopyrrolopyrrole; direct arylation polycondensation

1. Introduction

Over the past 20 years, conjugated polymers have received the most attention as novel organic semiconducting materials to alternative silicon-based devices for organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and polymer solar cells (PSCs) due to their flexibility, low cost, lightweight, and solution processability[11 Cheng, M., Chen, C., Yang, X., Huang, J., Zhang, F., Xu, B., & Sun, L. (2015). Novel small molecular materials based on phenoxazine core unit for efficient bulk heterojunction organic solar cells and perovskite solar cells. Chemistry of Materials, 27(5), 1808-1814. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b00001.
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,22 Cheng, M., Xu, B., Chen, C., Yang, X., Zhang, F., Tan, Q., Hua, Y., Kloo, L., & Sun, L. (2015). Phenoxazine-based small molecule material for efficient perovskite solar cells and bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. Advanced Energy Materials, 5(8), 1401720. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201401720.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201401720...
]. Therefore, the discovery of innovative semiconducting polymers is an essential task to develop next-generation electronic devices. Among them, phenoxazine(POZ)-based semiconductors, which include electron-rich nitrogen and oxygen heteroatoms in a heterocyclic structure that results from nonplanar butterfly conformation, have greatly enhanced the device performance. Thus, several small molecules containing POZ are widely used in organic electronic devices[33 Choi, J., Kim, W., Kim, S., Kim, T.-S., & Kim, B. J. (2019). Influence of acceptor type and polymer molecular weight on the mechanical properties of polymer solar cells. Chemistry of Materials, 31(21), 9057-9069. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.9b03333.
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,44 Gobalasingham, N. S., & Thompson, B. C. (2018). Direct arylation polymerization: a guide to optimal conditions for effective conjugated polymers. Progress in Polymer Science, 83, 135-201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2018.06.002.
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], including OLEDs[55 Gong, X., Zhang, Y., Wen, H., Fan, Y., Han, P., Sun, Y., Zhang, X., Yang, H., & Lin, B. (2016). Phenoxazine-based conjugated ladder polymers as novel electrode materials for supercapacitors. ChemElectroChem, 3(11), 1837-1846. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/celc.201600381.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/celc.201600381...
,66 Hu, J.-J., Luo, X.-F., Zhang, Y.-P., Mao, M.-X., Ni, H.-X., Liang, X., & Zheng, Y.-X. (2022). Green multi-resonance thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters containing phenoxazine units with highly efficient electroluminescence. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 10(2), 768-773. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D1TC04595D.
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], fluorescent probes[77 Huang, Y., Kramer, E. J., Heeger, A. J., & Bazan, G. C. (2014). Bulk heterojunction solar cells: morphology and performance relationships. Chemical Reviews, 114(14), 7006-7043. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cr400353v. PMid:24869423.
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], OSCs and perovskite solar cells[88 Jenni, S., Renault, K., Dejouy, G., Debieu, S., Laly, M., & Romieu, A. (2022). In situ synthesis of phenoxazine dyes in water: application for “turn-on” fluorogenic and chromogenic detection of nitric oxide. ChemPhotoChem, 6(5), e202100268. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cptc.202100268.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cptc.202100268...

9 Lipomi, D. J., & Bao, Z. (2017). Stretchable and ultraflexible organic electronics. MRS Bulletin, 42(2), 93-97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2016.325.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2016.325...
-1010 Lombeck, F., Müllers, S., Komber, H., Menke, S. M., Pearson, A. J., Conaghan, P. J., McNeill, C. R., Friend, R. H., & Sommer, M. (2017). Benzoyl side-chains push the open-circuit voltage of PCDTBT/PCBM solar cells beyond 1 V. Organic Electronics, 49, 142-151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2017.06.055.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2017.0...
], as well as photoredox catalysts in atom transfer radical polymerization[1111 Mazzio, K. A., & Luscombe, C. K. (2015). The future of organic photovoltaics. Chemical Society Reviews, 44(1), 78-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C4CS00227J. PMid:25198769.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C4CS00227J...
]. In contrast to POZ-based small molecules, POZ-based polymers are far less common, hence more research is necessary.

In organic optoelectronic devices, conjugated polymers have clear advantages over small-molecule materials such as flexibility and stretchability[1212 Narayanaswamy, K., Yadagiri, B., Chowdhury, T. H., Swetha, T., Islam, A., Gupta, V., & Singh, S. P. (2019). Impact of A–D–A-structured dithienosilole- and phenoxazine-based small molecular material for bulk heterojunction and dopant-free perovskite solar cells. Chemistry: a European Journal, 25(71), 16320-16327. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201903599. PMid:31497906.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201903599...

13 Nowakowska-Oleksy, A., Cabaj, J., Olech, K., Sołoducho, J., & Roszak, S. (2011). Comparative study of alternating low-band-gap benzothiadiazole co-oligomers. Journal of Fluorescence, 21(4), 1625-1633. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10895-011-0851-1. PMid:21279539.
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-1414 Nowakowska-Oleksy, A., Sołoducho, J., & Cabaj, J. (2011). Phenoxazine based units- synthesis, photophysics and electrochemistry. Journal of Fluorescence, 21(1), 169-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10895-010-0701-6. PMid:20625802.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10895-010-070...
]. Therefore, it is important to develop conjugated polymers with high molecular weights. Since 2005, POZ-based conjugated polymer was first reported by the Jenekhe group[1515 Onoabedje, E. A., Ayogu, J. I., & Odoh, A. S. (2020). Recent development in applications of synthetic phenoxazines and their related congeners: a mini-review. ChemistrySelect, 5(28), 8540-8556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/slct.202001932.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/slct.202001932...
], several p-type conjugated polymers-based POZ have been synthesized and used in p-channel OFETs and PSCs[1616 Pearson, R. M., Lim, C.-H., McCarthy, B. G., Musgrave, C. B., & Miyake, G. M. (2016). Organocatalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization using n-aryl phenoxazines as photoredox catalysts. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 138(35), 11399-11407. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6b08068. PMid:27554292.
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,1717 Pouliot, J.-R., Grenier, F., Blaskovits, J. T., Beaupré, S., & Leclerc, M. (2016). Direct (hetero) arylation polymerization: simplicity for conjugated polymer synthesis. Chemical Reviews, 116(22), 14225-14274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00498. PMid:27809495.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b...
]. There have also been some reports on POZ-based ladder polymers that serve as innovative supercapacitor electrode materials[1818 Truong, N. T. T., Mai, H. L. T., Luu, T. H., Nguyen, L. T., Nguyen, L.-T. T., Hoang, M. H., Huynh, H. P. K., Tran, C. D., & Nguyen, H. T. (2021). New narrow bandgap polymers containing 10-(4-((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)phenyl)-10H-phenothiazine/phenoxazine and 3,6-di(2-thienyl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione)-based units: synthesis and photovoltaic properties. Journal of Materials Science Materials in Electronics, 32(8), 10194-10208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-05675-2.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-056...
]. Moreover, most of the reports discussed properties of POZ-based polymers as p-type materials, while a few pieces of literature referred to that in n-type polymer, bearing high coplanarity that leads to a low optical band gap. POZ-based polymers have been synthesized primarily by cross-coupling reactions such as the Suzuki−Miyaura coupling and the Migita−Kosugi−Stille coupling reactions. However, the resulting polymers had low molecular weights with the number-average molecular weight (Mn) lower than 10 000 g/mol due to the instability of the boronated POZ monomer[1515 Onoabedje, E. A., Ayogu, J. I., & Odoh, A. S. (2020). Recent development in applications of synthetic phenoxazines and their related congeners: a mini-review. ChemistrySelect, 5(28), 8540-8556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/slct.202001932.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/slct.202001932...
,1919 Zheng, Y., Zhang, S., Tok, J. B.-H., & Bao, Z. (2022). Molecular design of stretchable polymer semiconductors: current progress and future directions. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 144(11), 4699-4715. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c00072. PMid:35262336.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c00072...
]. Alternatively, transition metal-catalyzed direct (hetero)arylation polymerization (DArP or DHAP) via C–H bond activation has been developed recently as a new synthetic method for conjugated polymers[2020 Zhu, Y., Babel, A., & Jenekhe, S. A. (2005). Phenoxazine-based conjugated polymers: a new class of organic semiconductors for field-effect transistors. Macromolecules, 38(19), 7983-7991. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ma0510993.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ma0510993...
,2121 Zhu, Y., Kulkarni, A. P., & Jenekhe, S. A. (2005). Phenoxazine-based emissive donor−acceptor materials for efficient organic light-emitting diodes. Chemistry of Materials, 17(21), 5225-5227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cm050743p.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cm050743p...
]. Because this polycondensation method does not require an organometallic monomer, the preparation step for a boronated monomer and concern about its instability can be avoided. The absence of organometallic monomers also results in the high purity of the polymers because organometallic monomers do not contaminate waste with metals. The main issue still lies in selecting the appropriate processes to produce high-molecular-weight polymers with high selectivity and broad monomer scope.

In this regard, our group reported highly efficient Pd-catalyzed direct arylation polycondensation of a novel low bandgap POZ-based polymer as a potential photoactive donor material in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OSCs[1717 Pouliot, J.-R., Grenier, F., Blaskovits, J. T., Beaupré, S., & Leclerc, M. (2016). Direct (hetero) arylation polymerization: simplicity for conjugated polymer synthesis. Chemical Reviews, 116(22), 14225-14274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00498. PMid:27809495.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b...
]. Herein, we report further investigation of direct arylation polycondensation of the POZ with different side chains and diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) to design and synthesized novel low-bandgap donor-acceptor conjugated copolymers. We also investigated the effect of the side chain on the electronic, optical, and nanostructures properties of the new POZ-based polymers, including poly(10-ethylhexyl phenoxazine-3,7-diyl-alt-3,6-dithien-2-yl-2,5-diethylhexylpyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-5′,5′′-diyl) (P1) and poly(10-hexylbenzoyl-phenoxazine-3,7-diyl-alt-3,6-dithien-2-yl-2,5-diethylhexylpyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-5′,5′′-diyl) (P2).

2. Materials and Methods

2.1 Materials

All chemical reagents were used without further purification as purchased from Aldrich, Acros, and TCI chemical unless otherwise specified. Phenoxazine (98%), and 3,6-bis(5-bromothiophen-2-yl)-2,5-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione were purchased from TCI (Tokyo, Japan). Triethylamine (98%), 4-dimethylaminopyridine (98%), 2-ethylhexyl bromide (98%), 4-hexylbenzoyl chloride (98%), and tetrahydrofuran (99.9%) were purchased from Acros Organics. Palladium(II) acetate (Pd(OAc)2, 98%), tricyclohexylphosphine tetrafuoroborate (97%, PCy3·HBF4), and pivalic acid (PivOH, 97%) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Sodium tert-butoxide (NaO-tBu, 97%), sodium carbonate (99%), and magnesium sulfate (98%) were purchased from Acros and used as received. Chloroform (CHCl3, 99.5%), and dimethylacetamide (DMAc, 99%) were purchased from Fisher/Acros and dried using molecular sieves under N2. Dichloromethane (99.8%), hexane (99%), methanol (99.8%), and ethyl acetate (99%) were purchased from Fisher/Acros and used as received.

2.2 Instrumentation

FT-IR spectra collected as the average of 256 scans with a resolution of 4 cm-1, were recorded from KBr disk on the FT-IR Bruker Tensor 27. 1H NMR spectra was carried out on a 500 MHz spectrometer – Bruker AMX500 apparatus in CDCl3. 1H NMR chemical shifts are referenced to TMS (δ 0.00 ppm). The following abbreviations are used to describe the NMR signals: s (singlet), d (doublet), t (triplet), q (quartet), and br (broad). Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) measurements were performed on a Polymer PL-GPC 50 gel permeation chromatograph system equipped with an RI detector, with chloroform as the eluent at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, 35 0C. Molecular weights and molecular weight distributions were calculated with reference to polystyrene standards. UV–vis absorption spectra of polymers in solution and polymer thin films were recorded on a Shimadzu UV-2450 spectrometer over a wavelength range of 300–900 nm. Fluorescence spectra were measured on a HORIBA IHR 325 spectrometer. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were carried out with DSC 204 F1-NETZSCH instruments under nitrogen flow (heating rate 10 °C min-1). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements were performed under nitrogen flow using STA 409 PC Instruments with a heating rate of 10 °C min-1 from ambient temperature to 800 °C.

2.3 Synthesis of the monomers and polymers

2.3.1 Synthesis of monomer 10-(2-ethylhexyl)-10H-phenoxazine (M1)

Monomer 10-(2-ethylhexyl)-10H-phenoxazine (M1) was synthesized according modified earlier procedures[88 Jenni, S., Renault, K., Dejouy, G., Debieu, S., Laly, M., & Romieu, A. (2022). In situ synthesis of phenoxazine dyes in water: application for “turn-on” fluorogenic and chromogenic detection of nitric oxide. ChemPhotoChem, 6(5), e202100268. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cptc.202100268.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cptc.202100268...
]. A schlenk tube was charged with phenoxazine (400 mg, 2.18 mmol), and sodium tert-butoxide (252 mg, 2.62 mmol) in 10 mL of THF under nitrogen. After the mixture refluxed for 1 h, 2-ethylhexyl bromide (506 mg, 2.62 mmol) was added, then the mixture refluxed for 23 h. After the reaction, the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation, then 30 mL of water are added and the solution is extracted with dichloromethane. Collect the organic layer and the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation. The residue was purified by chromatography (silica gel, hexane) to provide product M1 as a colorless oil (550 mg, 86%). 1H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl3, ppm): δ 6.86 – 6.79 (d, 2H), 6.70 – 6.60 (m, 4H), 6.56-6.50 (d, 2H), 3.41 (d, J = 7.3 Hz, 2H), 1.88 (dd, J = 12.7, 6.4 Hz, 1H), 1.46 – 1.26 (m, 8H), 0.94-0.86 (m, 6H).

2.3.2 Synthesis of monomer 10-(4-(hexyl)benzoyl)-10H-phenoxazine (M2)

4-hexylbenzoyl chloride (587. mg, 2.62 mmol) was placed in a nitrogen-filled round bottom flask equipped with a reflux condenser, phenoxazine (400 mg, 2.18 mmol), 10 mL THF, triethylamine (0.3 mL, 2.18 mmol), and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (45 mg, 0.36 mmol) were added. The mixture was heated to reflux for 72 h. After the reaction, the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation, then 30 mL of water are added and the solution is extracted with dichloromethane. Collect the organic layer and the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation. The residue was purified by chromatography (silica gel, hexane/ethyl acetate: 15/1) to provide product M2 as a colorless oil (512 mg, 75%). 1H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl3, ppm): δ 7.38 (d, J = 7.9Hz, 2H), 7.33 (d, J = 7.3 Hz, 2H), 7.12 (m, J = 7.2 Hz, 4H), 7.07 (d, 2H), 6.93 (d, 2H), 2.57 (m, 2H), 1.59 (m, 2H), 1.38 - 1.18 (m, 6H), 0.87 (m, J = 7.2 Hz, 3H).

2.3.3 General synthesis of donor-acceptor conjugated copolymers P1 and P2 via direct arylation polycondensation

A 25 mL Schlenk flask was charged with monomer M1 (88.63 mg, 0.3 mmol) or M2 (111.44 mg, 0.3 mmol), 3,6-bis(5bromothiophen-2-yl)-2,5-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione (DPP) (204.77 mg, 0.3 mmol) and DMAc (6 mL). The reactor was purged with nitrogen for 20 min. The septum was opened and Pd(OAc)2 (3.36 mg, 0.015 mmol), PCy3.HBF4 (11.05 mg, 0.03 mmol), PivOH (30.64 mg, 0.3 mmol), and K2CO3 (248.767 mg, 1.8 mmol) were added. Oxygen was removed from the reaction solution by three freeze–pump–thaw cycles, and at the end the reactor was then back-filled with argon to preserve an inert atmosphere. The reactor was heated in a 100 °C oil bath for 4h. After being cooled to room temperature, the reaction mixture was diluted with 30 mL of chloroform. The obtained organic layer was passed through Celite to remove the Pd catalyst and the insoluble polymer fraction, concentrated and was precipitated into methanol. The product was purified by sequential Soxhlet extractions using methanol (6h), acetone (6h), and hexane (6h). The resultant polymer was further purified by dissolving in CHCl3 and reprecipitating into methanol. The pure copolymers were obtained after drying under a vacuum at 60 °C overnight.

P1: a deep blue solid in 82% yield, 201 mg. 1H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl3, ppm): δ 9.1-8.66 (d, 2H), 7.71 (m, 3H), 7.52 (m, 3H), 7.37 (d, 2H), 4.22 (td, 4H), 4.05 (td, 2H), 1.90 (m, 2H), 1.88-1.26 (m, 24H), 0.94-0.86 (m, 18H). GPC: Mn = 28 000 gmol-1, Mw/Mn = 2.22.

P2: a deep blue solid in 85% yield, 228 mg. 1H NMR (500 MHz, CDCl3, ppm): δ 9.1-8.66 (d, 2H), 8.65 (d, 2H), 8.46 (d, 2H), 8.44-8.20 (m, 3H), 8.19-7.94 (m, 3H), 7.34 (d, 2H), 4.06 (td, 4H), 2.30 (td, 2H), 1.90 (dd, 2H), 1.75-1.16 (m, 24H), 0.94-0.84 (m, 15H). GPC: Mn = 41 500 gmol-1, Mw/Mn = 1.91.

3. Results and Discussions

We synthesized two different donor-acceptor conjugated copolymers based on DPP as an acceptor unit and POZ as a donor unit, in which the effect of replacing the branched alkyl substituent at the POZ by a benzoyl moiety on the structural, photophysical, and thermal parameter was investigated. The synthesis of all monomers (M1 and M2) and their copolymers (P1 and P2) is outlined in Scheme 1.

Scheme 1
Route of synthesis for the phenoxazine-based monomers and copolymers.

3.1 Monomer synthesis

First, two monomers POZ, M1 and M2, were synthesized in only one step from relatively inexpensive and commercially available H-phenoxazine with high yields of 86% and 75%, respectively. The structure of monomers M1 and M2 was determined via 1H NMR. The 1H NMR spectrum of monomer M1 (Figure 1a) shows a doublet peak at 6.86 ppm (peak d), a triplet peak at 6.70 ppm (peak b, c), and a doublet peak at 6.56 ppm (peak a) corresponding to the protons of the POZ benzene ring. The peaks from 0.86 ppm to 3.41 ppm are attributed to the ethylhexyl protons. Similarly, the 1H NMR spectrum of monomer M2 (Figure 1b) also showed all characteristic peaks of the hexylbenzoyl-POZ. The presence of these peaks, along with their integral ratios, indicate that the reaction has taken place successfully to give the ethylhexyl-POZ and hexylbenzoyl-POZ monomers.

Figure 1
1H NMR spectra of monomer M1 (a) and M2 (b) in CDCl3.

3.2 Polymer synthesis

As shown in Scheme 1, the alternating POZ-DPP copolymers were synthesized by direct arylation polycondensation between branched alkyl or benzoyl alkyl of POZ and dibromides of DPP to give P1, and P2, respectively. The polycondensation was carried out in dimethylacetamide (DMAc) at 100 °C for 4h with 5%mol of Pd(OAc)2, 10%mol of PCy3.HBF4, 1.0 equivalent of pivalic acid (PivOH), and 6.0 equivalents of K2CO3. Both polymers were purified by sequential Soxhlet extractions using methanol (6h), acetone (6h), and hexane (6h) to remove catalyst and oligomers, then a chloroform fraction was collected, precipitated from cold methanol and isolated. The yield of both reactions was a high yield ≥ 82%. All the polymers showed excellent solubility in organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, chloroform, toluene, and chlorobenzene at room temperature. The number average molecular weights (Mn) and dispersity (Đ) of the two polymers P1 and P2 were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) against polystyrene standards in CHCl3 and were found to be 28 000 and 41 500 gmol-1 and 2.22 and 1.91, respectively (Table 1).

Table 1
Polymerization yields, molecular weights and thermal properties of copolymers.

3.3 Polymer structure

The chemical structures of the polymers were verified by FT-IR, and 1H NMR spectra. Figure 2 shows the FT-IR spectra of the obtained these copolymers. The bands at 2850 and 3060 cm-1 are ascribed to C−H stretching modes of n-alkyl groups and ring C−H stretching vibrations. The vibrational bands between 1550 and 1000 cm-1 in all the polymers are due to stretching vibrations of the C−N and C−O groups in the phenoxazine ring. Especially, a peak at 1689 cm-1 appears in the spectrum of the P2 attributed to the stretching vibration of the carbonyl groups (C=O) having higher intensity than of the P1. Figure 3 showed the 1H NMR spectra of the alternating copolymers, P1 and P2, which were in good agreement with the polymers' structures. The spectrum of P1 showed resonances in the range of 7.5-7.8 ppm that can be attributed to the protons in the phenoxazine ring and peaks at 9.0 ppm and 7.3 ppm which is attributable to the protons in the DPP ring. In contrast, the proton in the phenoxazine ring was represented by the P2 spectrum peaks at 7.9–8.6 ppm. While the resonance at 4.25 ppm in the spectra of P1 is assigned to the two R-methylene protons in the N-substituted hexyl chain, the peak at 2.26 ppm in the P2 spectrum corresponds to the two R-methylene protons in the N-benzoyl hexyl chain.

Figure 2
Comparative FT-IR spectra of P1 (a) and P2 (b).
Figure 3
1H NMR spectra of P1 (a) and P2 (b) in CDCl3.

The thermal properties of the polymers were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) under nitrogen and the results are summarized in Table 1 and Figure 4. All the polymers showed good thermal stability with the onset decomposition temperature (Td) weight loss of 10% occurred above 350 oC and a loss of about 50 wt% at 800 oC (Figure 4a). No obvious thermal transitions were detected in the second heating scans from the DSC experiment in the temperature range up to 250 oC, indicating that the polymers are amorphous in the temperature range (Figure 4b).

Figure 4
TGA (a) and DSC (b), second heating scans) curves of spectra of P1 and P2 with heating rate of 10 ◦Cmin−1 under nitrogen atmosphere. Td represents the temperature of 10% weight loss.

3.4 Optical properties

The UV−vis absorption spectra of the two polymers P1 and P2 were recorded at room temperature both in dilute chloroform solution (ca. 10−6 M) and as thin films spin-coated onto quartz substrates (Figure 5). The detailed absorption data, including maximum absorbance (λmax) in solution and solid state as well as the optical bandgaps, deduced from the absorption edge in films (Eg opt), are summarized in Table 2. The UV spectrum of P1 and P2 polymers in chloroform exhibit a strong absorbance with λmax at 700 nm and 710 nm, respectively. This absorption maximum of over 700 nm results from an intramolecular charge transfer (CT) state of the phenoxazine moieties alternate with diketopyrrolopyrrole moieties in the backbone.

Figure 5
UV–vis absorption spectra of P1 (a) and P2 (b) in CHCl3 solution and thin film on a quartz substrate.
Table 2
Absorption maxima and energy levels of the polymers.

The UV−vis spectra of thin films of all polymers show absorption throughout the visible region. Moreover, there is significant absorption extending into the near-IR region (as far as ca. 900 nm). In the thin film absorption spectrum, the 92 nm red shift in λmax observed for the P2 polymer compared to P1 is due to the branched alkyl/benzoyl of group substitutions on phenoxazine. The optical band gaps for P1 and P2 polymers were calculated from the absorption cut off value in the solid state. In comparison, P2 films exhibit slightly red-shifted absorption and a lower Egopt of 1.43 eV, whereas P1 films exhibit blue-shifted absorption and a higher Egopt of 1.46 eV. The red-shifted absorption maxima in P2 copolymer, indicating that the increased electronic delocalization arising from a more coplanar conformation and reduced steric interactions when benzoyl of group substitutions on phenoxazine moieties alternate with diketopyrrolopyrrole moieties in the backbone. The benzoyl system facilitates π-π interactions between copolymer chains, although the benzoyl substituent is not in direct but cross-conjugated conjugation with the polymer backbone[2222 Zhu, Y., Kulkarni, A. P., Wu, P.-T., & Jenekhe, S. A. (2008). New ambipolar organic semiconductors. 1. synthesis, single-crystal structures, redox properties, and photophysics of phenoxazine-based donor−acceptor molecules. Chemistry of Materials, 20(13), 4200-4211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cm702212w.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cm702212w...
]. The substitution of the branched alkyl side chain by a benzoyl ring system led to a significant red-shift of the absorption peak as well as a broadening of the absorption band both in solution and solid state.

4. Conclusions

In conclusion, two novel low-bandgap conjugated donor-acceptor copolymers based on phenoxazine with ethylhexyl/hexyl benzoyl side chain and diketopyrrolopyrrole were successfully synthesized by Pd-catalyzed direct arylation coupling polycondensation with high Mn (up to 41 500 g/mol) and high yield (>80%). Interestingly, the phenoxazine-based polymers with hexyl benzoyl side chains have higher molecular weights than those with branched ethylhexyl side chains. The benzoyl substitution also resulted in a broadening and redshift of the solid-state absorption spectra of the corresponding copolymer compared to the non-benzoyl counterpart giving rise to lower optical bandgaps. These copolymers are promising candidate materials for developing new materials in optoelectronic applications.

6. Acknowledgements

This research is funded by Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) under grant number C2022-20-19 and NVTX2023: TX2023-20a-1.

  • How to cite: Bui, T. T., Nguyen, T. H., Doan, B. K., Nguyen, L.-T. T., Tran, C. D., & Nguyen, H. T. (2023). Phenoxazine and diketopyrrolopyrrole based donor-acceptor conjugated polymers: synthesis and optical properties. Polímeros: Ciência e Tecnologia, 33(1), e20230009. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1428.20230002

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    22 May 2023
  • Date of issue
    2023

History

  • Received
    17 Feb 2023
  • Accepted
    31 Mar 2023
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