A comparative study of aminothiazole-based polymers synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization

Poly(2-aminothiazole) derivatives were synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization method using 2-aminothiazole (2AT), 2-aminobenzothiazole (2ABT) and 6-ethoxy-2-aminobenzothiazole (EtO-2ABT) as the monomers. Structural characterizations were carried out by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The synthesized polymers were investigated by the means of solubility tests, UV–vis, spectrofluorometry, cyclic voltammetry (CV), thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) techniques. Solid state electrical conductivities were also measured on the polymer films. Phenyl attached aminothiazole polymers had higher solubilities than the unsubstituted poly(2-aminothiazole). The polymers had lower band gaps than the corresponding monomers indicating their polyconjugated structures. P-2AT and P-2ABT emitted bluish light under UV irradiation while P-EtO-2ABT emitted red color with lower intensity. Phenyl attachment and ethoxy substitution of the monomer caused production of polymer with higher thermal stability. Additionally, a discussion of electrical conductivities and morphological variations was reported.

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► Organo-soluble aminothiazole homopolymers were synthesized by oxidative polmerization.
► 2-Aminobenzothiazole homopolymer was obtained with sponge-like microporous morphology.
► The polymers were bluish and red light emitters under UV radiation.
► Polyconjugated structures were confirmed by optical and electrochemical band gaps.
► Aminobenzothiazole polymers were thermally stable up to 150–200 °C.