Synthesis and electrical and optical properties of poly‐(2‐methoxy‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene) and copolymers

Poly(2‐methoxy‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene) (PMVP) and copolymers containing both unsubstituted (1,4‐phenylenevinylene, PV) and 2‐methoxy‐1,4‐phenylenevinylene (MPV) units were prepared in thin films from their water‐soluble sulfonium salt precursor polymers. Drawn films (L/L0 = 6) of the PMPV homopolymer could be doped with I2 vapor and FeCl3 to give conductivities of 3,2 and 4,0 ċ cm−1, respectively. The conductivity of FeCl3‐doped copolymer films ranged from 100 to ca. 102 ċ cm−1 depending on the composition. The third‐order nonlinear susceptibility, χ(3), for the PMPV film was investigated by degenerate four‐wave mixing technique using 400 femtosecond pulses at 602 nm. A relatively large χ(3) value (7,9 ċ 10−10 esu) with a subpicosecond response was observed.