Boron Dipyrromethene (Bodipy) In Polymer Chemistry

Boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) are versatile dyes with diverse structures and associated optoelectronic properties. Their integration into soft materials (polymers) has enabled a myriad of applications from biological/environmental (e.g., imaging, sensing, and therapy) to organic electronic devices and synthesis/degradation. The story herein is meant to guide the reader from the bottom-up, starting with general syntheses of BODIPYs, followed by a discussion of photophysical and electrochemical properties as they relate to structure. These structure-property relationships are then connected to three light driven transformations that are central to the utility of BODIPYs in materials science: (1) electron/energy transfer; (2) triplet formation, and (3) photolysis. Next, the synthetic integration of BODIPYs as structural motifs in both pi-conjugated and non-pi-conjugated polymers is described, along with prescribed methods to tailor their optoelectronic properties. These properties are then correlated to recent utility of BODIPYs within polymer science, both fundamental - examination of polymer dynamics and self-assembly - and applied - biomedicine, optoelectronics, chemosensors, small molecule photoredox catalysis, and photo-polymerization and -degradation. The end of this review provides a summary of the rich history and outlook on the exciting future opportunities for this burgeoning field of BODIPYs in polymer chemistry.