Terpyridine‐substituted, fluorescent polymers and their chelation with zinc ion: The ligand‐to‐metal ratio and optical properties

Soluble, fluorescent, terpyridine‐substituted, conjugated polymers were prepared and characterized. The polymer chains included a defined oligo(phenylenevinylene) fragment, on which the terpyridine‐functional group was attached. The polymers were blue‐fluorescent with emission peaks at 400–427 nm in tetrahydrofuran solutions. Upon chelation with the Zn(II) cation, the emission maxima were shifted to a longer wavelength by as much as 113 to 506–526 nm. A model compound was also prepared to aid the structural characterization. The ratio of terpyridine to Zn 2+ in the polymer complex was found to be 1:1 on the basis of spectroscopic evidence, which included mass spectrometry, 1 H NMR, and Job titration.