Improvements in alternative energy technology rely on the development of new advanced materials. In this regard, conjugated polymers and polyelectrolytes are both being explored for charge transport and ion transport applications. In this talk, some synthetic methods to build well-defined polymeric materials will be discussed. For conjugated polymers, Catalyst-Transfer Polycondensation (CTP) is typically employed to prepare materials with controlled molecular weights and relatively low dispersities. While Kumada cross-coupling is normally employed for these polymerization reactions, Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling has tremendous potential to improve functional group tolerance and monomer scope. Our efforts to use nickel catalysts with Suzuki-Miyaura coupling for conjugated polymer synthesis will be discussed. Additionally, some work on using Reversible-Deactivation Radical Polymerization (RDRP) to build phosphonium-based polyelectrolytes will be presented.
Kevin Noonan (Carnegie Mellon University)