Expanding the Scope and Enabling Potential of Direct Arylation Polymerization (DArP)

University Of Southern California, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division supports the project by Professor Barry C. Thompson. Professor Thompson is a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Southern California (USC). Professor Thompson's research develops new synthetic methods to prepare conjugated polymers. Conjugated polymers have emerged as a highly attractive platform for organic electronics and specifically for applications such as solar cells and light emitting diodes. The current synthetic methods of making these devices are difficult. These reactions typically require highly reactive and flammable reagents for preparation. These prevailing chemistries also limit the type of monomers to a narrow group, further limiting the range of polymer properties. This research describes a strategy to develop the new synthetic technique for making polymers, Direct Arylation Polymerization (DArP), into a robust, broad-reaching, and enabling platform for the synthesis of conjugated polymers. Professor Thompson?s hypothesis is that through careful control of reaction parameters and additives, DArP can be made to be broadly compatible with a variety of monomer systems and can exhibit selectivity better than traditional methods of conjugated polymer synthesis. The research project also offers a significantly more green and sustainable route to conjugated polymer synthesis. The research provides training for community college students through the USC-Cerritos College summer internship program. Optimization of DArP and the ultimate scale-up of polymers made by DArP provides a significantly more economical and environmentally friendly way to synthesize polymers for solar cell applications. This research describes Professor Thompson?s strategy to develop Direct Arylation Polymerization (DArP) into a robust, broad-reaching, and enabling platform for the synthesis of conjugated polymers. Motivation for this work is based on the limited methods for conjugated polymer synthesis. While DArP can attractively bypass metalation requirements, it currently lags behind state-of-the-art methods like Stille methods in terms of functional group tolerance and minimization of defects andas Kumada catalyst-transfer polycondensation (KTCP) reactions in terms of control over polymer growth. As a result, the major objectives of this work are to: 1. Establish a broadly applicable direct arylation polymerization platform that is both versatile and robust, 2. Develop oxidative direct arylation polymerization for the generation of polymers without preactivation of the monomers, and 3. Refine the DArP platform for enhanced control over polymer growth and compatibility with more abundant metal catalysts. Professor Thompson?s approach toward achieving these objectives is a hypothesis driven study based on promising observations in small molecule direct arylation. This methods has theability to not just extend small molecule chemistry but to adapt and develop new polymer chemistry through simple, modular control of reaction parameters.