Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of novel alternating phenylenevinylene or fluorenevinylene copolymers containing perylene bisimide

Two novel alternating phenylenevinylene copolymers P6 and P12 as well as one fluorenevinylene copolymer F connected at the 1,7 bay positions with perylene bisimide were synthesized by Heck coupling. They were characterized by GPC, FT-IR, 1H NMR, TGA, TMA, UV-vis, cyclic voltammetry and photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra. The copolymers were soluble in common organic solvents and thermally stable up to ∼300 °C. Their glass transition temperatures were 48-60 °C. The long wavelength absorption maximum was located at 510-542 nm with optical band gaps of ∼2.0 eV. The PL emission maximum of P6 and P12 was red-shifted relative to F. The photovoltaic performance of P6, P12 and F was also investigated.