Sequential and Simultaneous Photoinduced Radical and Step-Growth Polymerizations of Carbazole Functional Styrene

Abstract

Photoinduced radical and step-growth polymerizations of carbazole functional styrene (vinyl phenyl carbazole, VPC) by sequential and one-pot strategies have been investigated. The obtained polymers were characterized by FTIR, 1H-NMR, GPC, UV–Vis, PL, CV, and BET analyses. The theoretical charge distribution and HOMO–LUMO calculation by DFT were well-matched with those obtained from optical and electrochemical measurements. In the sequential approach, visible light-induced free-radical photopolymerization of VPC by using bisacyl phosphineoxide results in the formation of linear polymers with side-chain carbazole moieties. The resulting polymers exhibit a smooth surface as a consequence of decreasing crystallinity. As evidenced by TEM analysis, the subsequent photoiniated step-growth polymerization of the carbazole groups by using diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate (DPI) yields hyperbranched and cross-linked polymers with the microspheres on the surface. In the one-pot approach, concomitant photoinitiated free-radical and step-growth polymerizations by using DPI results in the formation of cross-linked polymers with dispersed distribution. The total nitrogen uptake of VPC-based polymers by using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area was found to be between about 150 and 190 m2/g at 77 K.