The design of new copolymers for x(3) applications

Several electroactive π-conjugated polymers have recently shown promising non-linear optical (NLO) properties. However, long conjugation sequences in such polymers as polyacetylene (PA), polythiophene (PT), poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) and poly(2,5-thienylene vinylene) (PTV) often result in solubility, processability and optical transparency problems that make their use in electro-optic devices difficult. In this paper it is outlined how copolymers in which oligomeric segments of PTV, alternating with saturated spacer units, can be synthesized and cast as optical-quality films for NLO applications. The design of oligomeric PTV monomers and preliminary NLO characterization of the copolymers are also described.