Tracking ion mediated changes in the optical properties of a polymeric mixed ionic–electronic conductor: an application for a chemical sensor system

• Published in: Synthetic metals Vol. 139; no. 3; pp. 613 - 616
• Main Authors: Mauthner, G., Wenzl, F.P., Collon, M., Bouguettaya, M., Reynolds, J.R., Leising, G., List, E.J.W.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 09.10.2003; Amsterdam Elsevier Science; New York, NY
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Conjugated polymer; Electrical, magnetic and optical properties; Exact sciences and technology; Organic polymers; Photoinduced absorption spectroscopy; Physicochemistry of polymers; Properties and characterization; UV-Vis-NIR absorption; Photoinduced absorption spectroscopy; Conjugated polymer; UV-Vis-NIR absorption; Graft copolymer; Triplet exciton; Polymer solid electrolyte; Ethylene oxide copolymer; Experimental study; Conjugated copolymer; Optical properties; Concentration effect; Lithium compound; Phenylene copolymer; Optical absorption
• ISSN: 0379-6779; 1879-3290
• DOI: 10.1016/S0379-6779(03)00254-6

In this study, we use photoinduced absorption (PIA) spectroscopy to show that the triplet exciton properties of an oligo(ethylene oxide) (OEO) grafted conjugated polymer (PPP-R10) are very sensitive to the presence of ionic species. Investigations were performed on thin spin-cast films of this polymeric mixed ionic–electronic conductor. Since the ion-coordinating side-chains are directly attached to the conjugated backbone, an ion induced order–disorder transition affects the characteristics of the conjugated polymer, which is observable as a blue shift in the π–π * absorption, the triplet exciton absorption spectra, and also manifests in other triplet exciton properties, like their lifetimes and the bimolecular annihilation parameter. Based on the sensitivity of the triplet exciton properties such polymers can be envisioned in the application in chemical sensor systems.