Poly(salphenyleneethynylene)s: soluble, conjugated metallopolymers that exhibit unique supramolecular crosslinking behavior

Abstract

The synthesis of new soluble conjugated metallopolymers 4a–c and 5a–c containing Zn, Ni and Cu salphen derivatives is reported. The structures of the high molecular weight polymers are confirmed by NMR, IR, UV-vis, and fluorescence spectroscopic studies. Zinc-containing metallopolymer 4a exhibits strong aggregation behavior in solution and in the solid state, and dissociation of the aggregates occurs upon addition of coordinating bases such as pyridine. A significant change to the luminescence of 4a is observed, suggesting its potential application as a sensor for Lewis bases.