Synthesis and Optical Properties of a Copolymer of Tetrafluoro- and Dialkoxy-Substituted Poly(p-phenylenevinylene) with a High Percentage of Fluorinated Units

A copolymer of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-1,4-phenylenevinylene and 2,5-dioctyloxy-1,4-phenylenevinylene [co(TFPV-DOPV)], containing more than 60% of tetrafluorophenylenevinylene monomeric units, was synthesized by the Stille cross-coupling reaction. Its linear and nonlinear optical properties were investigated. Linear absorption and photoluminescence measurements performed on thin films and solution indicate interchain migration upon excitation. A copolymer of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-1,4-phenylenevinylene and 2,5-dioctyloxy-1,4-phenylenevinylene [co(TFPV-DOPV)], containing more than 60% of tetrafluorophenylenevinylene monomeric units, was synthesized by the Stille cross-coupling reaction. Its linear and nonlinear optical properties were investigated. Linear absorption and photoluminescence measurements performed on thin films and solution indicate interchain migration upon excitation. The Z-scan technique was used to evaluate the third-order nonlinear susceptibility. A very high refractive nonlinearity was measured with a value one order of magnitude larger than that of the corresponding dialkoxy-substituted homopolymer.