Toward Photopatternable Thin Film Optical Sensors Utilizing Reactive Polyphenylacetylenes

Substituted polyphenylacetylenes featuring reactive pentafluorophenyl (PFP) ester moieties are synthesized. Parts of the reactive PFP groups are then converted with a mono ortho-nitrobenzyl-protected diamine in variable ratios. Thin films are prepared from these copolymers and irradiated with UV light (λ = 365 nm), resulting in crosslinking of the irradiated areas and hence enabling a photopatterning. We found that during the photocrosslinking process, the excess of PFP ester moieties is stable and remained intact, enabling a subsequent post-polymerization modification step with amines. Noteworthy, this subsequent modification with amines results in a dramatically shift in the UV-vis absorption spectra, rendering these patterned conjugated polymer films ideal candidates for optical sensors.