(Digital Presentation) Synthesis of Conjugated Polymer Alloy Prepared By Electrochemical Polymerization in Chiral Liquid Crystal
Authors: Komaba Kyoka , Kumai Reiji , Goto Hiromasa 
Published: July 2022

In this research, we synthesized polymer alloy by electrochemical polymerization in chiral liquid crystal. Homopolymers and the copolymer can be synthesized when electrochemical polymerization was conducted in the presence of several types of monomers. The polymer alloy thus prepared contains both blend of homopolymers and copolymers. The polymer alloy shows optical activity. The chirality derived from transcription of liquid crystal during the polymerization reaction results to show optical activity. The polymer alloy can show optical activity with no asymmetric centers. The optical activity is due to existence of charge carriers (polarons) in the main chain as a form of conjugated polymers. This is called chiral charge carrier “chiralions”. This research found that the chiral polymer alloy has chiralions.

Polymer alloys have been prepared by blending several kinds of polymers in the reaction. Polymer alloys also can be prepared by melt method. Unsubstituted conjugated polymers have poor solubility and fusibility because of the rigid π-bonds in the skeleton, which is drawback for preparation of π-conjugated polymer-based alloys. We have studied on preparation of chiral conjugated polymer alloys with combination of achiral polymers and chiral polymers.

In the present study, conjugated polymer alloys were synthesized with the method described in Figure 1a. Cholesteryl acetate (chiral inducer), 2,7-di(2-thienyl)fluorene (mono1), N-methyl-3,6-di(2-thienyl)carbazole (mono2) and TBAP (supporting salt) were dissolved in 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) as a host liquid crystal to prepare a chiral liquid crystal electrolyte. The electrolyte exhibited a fingerprint structure under observation of polarizing optical microscopy. For the electrochemical polymerization reaction, the electrolyte solution is charged in the cell consisted of two indium-tin-oxide (ITO) glass plates as electrodes and a poly(tetrafluoroethylene) spacer (200 μm thickness). Next, dc voltage of 3.0 V was applied to the ITO glass cell for 30 min for electrochemical polymerization. The polymer was deposited on the anode electrode as a thin film form. After polymerization, the remaining electrolyte solution on the ITO glass electrode was carefully washed with a large amount of hexane, yielding dark blue film. This film is abbreviated as Alloy1. The molecular structure was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy with the KBr method.

Alloy1 shows a fingerprint structure under POM observations (Figure 1b). The macroscopic structure of cholesteric liquid crystal was transcribed from the liquid crystal electrolyte solution to Alloy1. Synchrotron XRD measurement was carried out. The peak at 10.3 Å is derived from monomer repeat units. The XRD signal at 5.1 Å and 3.4 Å can be derived from π-stacking of Alloy1.

Alloy1 shows UV-vis absorption due to the three signals derived from π-π* transition of the main chain, polarons (radical cations) and bipolarons (radical dications). Electrochemical properties of Alloy1 were evaluated by the cyclic voltammetry (CV). Alloy1 film deposited on the ITO glass was used as a working electrode. An Ag/Ag+ electrode and a platinum wire served as the reference and counter electrodes, respectively. A propylene carbonate solution with 0.1 M of TBAP was employed as an electrolyte solution for the CV measurements. Cyclic voltammograms of Alloy1 shows the oxidation peak and reduction trough (Figure 1c). Plots of the oxidation peak current (I
pa) and the reduction peak current (I
pc) as a function of the square root of the scan rate show a linear shape of the anodic and cathodic peak current values when scan rates from 10 to 100 mV/s with intervals of 10 mV/s. This result indicated that the redox reaction of Alloy1 was reversible and controlled by electron transfer processes.

In-situ circular dichromism (CD) and in-situ optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) spectra of Alloy1 with application of voltages were examined in a propylene carbonate solution with 0.1 M of TBAP. The application voltages were between 0-1.2 V (vs. Ag/Ag+) with intervals of 0.1 V. A negative Cotton effect was observed from the in-situ CD, indicating Alloy1 has left-handed helical structure. The ORD shows negative signals, and changes with applied voltage. The ellipticity signal in the CD and optical rotation in the ORD could control in the electrochemical method, accompanied by electrochemical redox process.

We synthesized the polymer alloy by electrochemical polymerization in chiral liquid crystal. The conjugated polymer alloy showed chirality with no chiral centers in the main chain. The CD and ORD bands at NIR range are assigned to doping band as a form of polarons (radical cations). This research evaluated electrochemical control of “chiralions”.

Figure 1