Synthesis and luminescence properties of polymeric complexes of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Al(III) with functionalized polybenzimidazole containing 8-hydroxyquinoline side group

The polymeric ligand PBI-8Q (2) (functionalized polybenzimidazole containing 8-hydroxyquinoline side group) was successfully synthesized by the reaction of polybenzimidazole (PBI) (1) with 5-chloro-8-hydroxyquinoline (5-Cl-8Q) in DMSO solvent by using NaH as deprotonation reagent. Its corresponding metal complexes of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Al(III) were prepared and characterized through FT-IR, 1H NMR, molar conductance measurements and thermal analysis. The luminescence properties of all compounds were also studied by UV–vis and fluorescence spectra at ambient temperature. When excited from 338 to 415 nm, these compounds emit blue light of about 415 nm in solution and blue/green light from 483 to 552 nm in solid state, respectively. Thermal properties measurement and analysis show that they have good thermal stabilities.