Near-infrared responsive conjugated polymers to 1.5 μm and beyond : synthesis and electrochromic switching application

• Main Authors: Tang, Tao, Ding, Guoqiang, Lin, Tingting, Chi, Hong, Liu, Chen, Lu, Xuehong, Wang, FuKe, He, Chaobin
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science & Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Materials Science and Engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/102559; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/19054
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Azulene-containing conjugated polymers with near-infrared absorption up to 1.5 μm and beyond are achieved by treating with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). Density functional theory calculations reveal that the near-infrared absorption arises from a strong intramolecular charge transfer transition on the polymer backbone, and the near-infrared absorption can be tuned by the degree of protonation. Furthermore, TFA treated polymers show a ten-fold enhancement in electrochromic contrast and significantly improved switching stability, suggesting that these polymers are promising candidates for fabrication of the first generation organic near-infrared devices.