Synthesis and Chemical Properties of Poly(N-substituted diphenylamine-4,4′-diyl)s

A series of poly(diphenylamine)s with substituents at the N-position, (C 6 H 4 ―p―NR-C 6 H 4 ―p) n (R = methyl, butyl, hexyl, and benzoyl), were prepared by organometallic polycondensation using a zerovalent nickel complex. These polymers were soluble in organic solvents such as THF, N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), and gave intrinsic viscosity of 0.52―0.93 dL g ―1 . They showed number average molecular weights (M n ) of 3400―6100 with M w /M n (M w = weight average molecular weight) of 1.9―2.4 in GPC analysis. The polymers exhibited photoluminescence (PL) with emission peaks at λ EM = 408―425 nm in NMP solutions.