University of Connecticut |
Polymer Program SeminarElectroactive Polymers Friday, April 23, 2004 11:00 am , IMS Room 20 Since the first report of polymer light emitting diodes (LED) in 1990, the search for new polymers with stable and efficient electroluminescent properties has increased, but a through understanding of the structure property relations in these polymers is still lacking. One of our primary goals is to develop a fundamental understanding of these structure/property relationships in conjugated polymers. Specifically, how do polydispersity in conjugation length, polymer architecture (1-dimensional versus 2-dimensional) and sequence distribution in copolymers affect mobility and luminescence yield. By blending p-phenylenevinylene oligomers, that have different conjugation lengths, we have shown that long chains can act as traps and that polydispersity in conjugation significantly limits the performance of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). We have also synthesized 2-dimensional phenylenevinylenes and will report on their performance versus the performance of the corresponding linear molecules. In combination, these results begin to form a more complete picture of how the structure of these polymers impacts performance.
This seminar series is sponsored by generous grants from U.S. Surgical Corporation and Rogers Corporation. |