Abstract

This review reports a survey of our recent results on the synthesis of arylenevinylene polymers and oligomers selectively functionalized with fluorine atoms on aromatic and/or vinylene units. The synthetic methods developed are based on Pd-catalyzed organometallic cross-coupling reactions and in particular on the Stille coupling between vinyl organotin derivatives and aromatic halides. Several compounds have been synthesized, which differ for the number and position of the fluorine atoms on the conjugated backbone, even combined with other functional groups. The effects of fluorination on optical properties both in solution and solid state are discussed.

Keywords: Arylenevinylenes, conjugated polymers, cross-coupling, fluorinated compounds, organotin reagents, palladium catalyst, Stille reaction