Synthesis of π-Conjugated Polymers Containing Phosphole Units in the Main Chain by Reaction of an Organometallic Polymer Having a Titanacyclopentadiene Unit.

A regioregular organometallic polymer possessing titanacyclopentadiene units in the main chain, which was obtained by the reaction of terminal diyne and a low-valent titanium complex, was subjected to the reaction with dichlorophosphines to give π-conjugated polymers with phosphole or phosphole oxide units in the main chain. For example, a phenylphosphole-containing polymer was obtained in 76% yield by the reaction with dichlorophenylphosphine, whose number-average molecular weight () and molecular weight distribution (/) were estimated to be 6100 and 1.9, respectively, by GPC. The polymer was found to have an extended π-conjugated system, and its lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level was remarkably low (-3.28 eV) as supported by its UV-vis absorption spectrum and cyclic voltammetric (CV) analysis. Also, the polymer exhibits orange photoluminescence with an emission maximum () of 595 nm and a quantum yield (Φ) of 0.10.