Cyclopentadithiophene polymers synthesised via Suzuki-Miyaura polymerisation of MIDA boronate esters

Abstract

Cyclopentadithiophene (CPDT), a Csp3-bridged bithiophene heteroaromatic unit, displays interesting properties when it is embedded in the repeating units of π-conjugated polymers, and they are applied in organic electronics devices. Common synthetic routes to CPDT-derived polymers rely on toxic methodologies whilst alternative non-toxic strategies such as the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction have been less studied. In this report we demonstrate that the use of a N-methyliminodiacetic acid (MIDA) boronate ester-derived CPDT monomer allows the efficient formation of poly(cyclopentadithiophene) homopolymer under Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction conditions. Thus, the use of MIDA boronate esters might be extended to other organic units to design and construct a plethora of π-conjugated polymers.

Keywords

• cyclopentadithiophene
• MIDA boronates
• Suzuki-Miyaura polymerisation