Synthesis and characterization of fully soluble polyphenylenevinylene

Fully soluble poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyl)-oxy)-p-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) was synthesized by the addition of molecular weight modifiers (chain stopper, free radical scavengers) to a polymerization system containing monomer, catalyst and a solvent. These PPV products synthesized in this work were characterized by IR, NMR, UV-visible spectroscopy and GPC. Results show that the M_w of polyphenylvinylene (PPV) can be controlled by the addition of chain stopper (benzyl bromide) and radical inhibitor (2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methyl phenol). The polymerization mechanism in the presence of these additives was also discussed. A dual mechanism involving carbene for PPV polymerization was proposed.