Rod-coil block copolymers form an important class of molecules for the self-assembly of functional polymer systems. The incorporation of a conjugated rigid polymer into a block copolymers results in extremely rich self-assembly. The p-p interaction between the conjugated rods not only provides additional structural control factors and functionality, which differ from conventional block copolymers, but also bring electroactive and optical properties for photonic and electronic applications.We describe the synthesis and characterization of a family of diblock copolymers with a dihexyloxy-phenylenevinylene pentamer (OHPV5) connected to a series of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) blocks of different average lengths (12, 45 and 115 ethylene glycol units). We investigated the self-assembly of these block copolymers in ethanol, which is a good solvent for the PEG units, but poor for the OHPV segment. The structures obtained were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In addition, their photophysical properties were examined by UV-vis, steady state fluorescence and fluorescence decay measurements. The results of these experiments indicate that OHPV5-PEG115 formed long fiber-like micelles of uniform width, whereas OHPV5-PEG45 formed fragile broad ribbons. We also obtained disordered lamellar structures with OHPV5-PEG12.

Synthesis, self-assembly, and photophysical properties of oligo(2,5-dihexyloxy-1,4-phenylene vinylene)-<i>block</i>-poly(ethylene glycol)

248th National Meeting (2014)

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Synthesis, self-assembly, and photophysical properties of oligo(2,5-dihexyloxy-1,4-phenylene vinylene)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)