Synthesis, optical and photoconducting properties of platinum poly-yne polymers functionalized with electron-donating and electron-withdrawing bithiazole units

By virtue of the electron-donating and electron-withdrawing properties of the thiazole ring, a new soluble rigid-rod organometallic polymer containing electron-donating and electron-withdrawing trans-[-Pt-(PBu3)2-C≡C—R—C≡C—]n (R = bithiazolediyl) groups is prepared by CuI-catalyzed dehydrohalogenation. The thermal properties and the optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra of the polymer are reported. The polymer is luminescent with a singlet emission peak at 539 nm and photoconducting in a single-layer sandwich structure photocell. The optical gap of the polymer is reduced compared to that for the oligothienyl analogue.