Semiconducting Polyfluorenes—Towards Reliable Structure-Property Relationships

Abstract

Alkylsubstituted polyfluorenes have emerged as a very attractive class of conjugated polymers, especially for display applications, owing to their pure blue and efficient electroluminescence coupled with a high charge-carrier mobility and good processability. The availability of specific and highly regioselective coupling reactions provides a rich variety of tailored polyfluorene-type polymers and copolymers. The focus of this review, therefore, is on reliable structure–property relationships regarding (i) the interplay of substitution pattern, solid state morphology, and optical/electronic properties, and (ii) the key role of degradation-induced keto defect sites in fluorene-type polymers, and strategies for obtaining defect-free polyfluorenes.