The effect of side-chain branch position on the thermal properties of poly(3-alkylthiophenes)

Cao, Zhiqiang; Galuska, Luke; Qian, Zhiyuan; Zhang, Song; Huang, Lifeng; Prine, Nathaniel; Li, Tianyu; He, Youjun; Hong, Kunlun; Gu, Xiaodan

doi:10.1039/C9PY01026B

The effect of side-chain branch position on the thermal properties of poly(3-alkylthiophenes)

Journal Article · Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Polymer Chemistry

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/C9PY01026B· OSTI ID:1599400

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[2]; Huang, Lifeng ^[2]; ^[2]; ^[3]; He, Youjun ^[3]; ^[3]; ^[2]

Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MI (United States); The University of Southern Mississippi
Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MI (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Thermomechanical properties of conjugated polymers (CPs) are greatly influenced by both their microstructures and backbone dynamics. In the present work, to explore the effect of the side-chain branch position on the backbone's mobility and molecular packing structure, four poly (3-alkylthiophene-2,5-diyl) derivatives (P3ATs) with different side chains, either branched or linear, were synthesized by a quasi-living Kumada catalyst transfer polymerization (KCTP) method. The side-chain branch position greatly influences the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the backbone of P3ATs as well as the melting temperature (T_m), as measured by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) respectively. Placing the branching point closer to the conjugated backbone leads to increased backbone T_g and T_m. Also, according to grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) results, branching closer to the backbone causes tighter packing in the side-chain direction. The tighter packing along the side-chain direction coresponds with the higher T_m, which decreases the free volume of the polymer system and subsequently increases the T_g at the same time. This work offers the first in-depth understanding of branch point influences on the thermal properties of poly(3-alkylthiophenes). It would provide guidance to the future development of side-chain engineering on next-generation CPs with desirable thermomechnical properties for stretchable and wearable electronics.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0019361

OSTI ID:: 1599400

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1774209
OSTI ID: 1570789
OSTI ID: 1777810
OSTI ID: 1985429

Journal Information:: Polymer Chemistry, Journal Name: Polymer Chemistry Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 11; ISSN PCOHC2; ISSN 1759-9954

Publisher:: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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