Kumada chain-growth polycondensation as a universal method for synthesis of well-defined conjugated polymers

Abstract

Kumada chain-growth polycondensation (KCGP) is a novel method for the synthesis of well-defined conjugated polymers. Because the Ni-catalyst can transfer in an intramolecular process to the propagating chain end, the polymerization follows chain-growth mechanism. With this newly developed method, various conjugated polymers, such as polythiophenes, poly(p-phenylene) (PPP), polypyrrole (PPy), and polyfluorene with controlled molecular weights and relatively narrow polydispersities (PDIs), have been prepared. Especially, the polymerizations for poly(3-alkylthiophene)s (P3ATs), PPP, and PPy exhibited quasi-living characteristics, which allows preparing polymer brushes, fully-conjugated block copolymers, and macroinitiators and macro-reactants for the synthesis of rod-coil block copolymers. In the current review, the progress in this new area is summarized.