This presentation will summarize research on the synthesis and properties of semiconductive conjugated polymers for applications as organic electronic materials.
For display applications copolymers based on polyfluorenes are the polymer of choice. The presentation will describe the preparation of polyfluorenes and contributions of our research group in minimizing the long wavelength (green) emission which evolves as a result of formation of fluorenone emissive units through an oxidation process. Advances in harnessing the triplet state in electroluminescence will be reported, in which solution processible electrophorescent organometallic derivatives are incorporated in suitable copolymers. Double charge injection to produce emission of light in conjugated polymers should in principle be capable of being reversed to generate light harvesting devices. At the University of Melbourne we are interested in both dye sensitized solar cells and bulk polymer heterojunction cells. The work has been underpinned by both an International Science Linkage Project funded by the Australian Government and a consortium funded by the Energy Technology Innovation Strategy (ETIS) of the Victorian State Government.