High-spin polymeric arylamines

Abstract

High–spin p–doped polyarylamines have been created containing small clusters (tens) of ferromagnetically coupled unpaired electrons. In these doped polymers neighbouring spins couple through a pathway analogous to that found in meta–quinodimethane and the spin–carriers are triarylamine radical cations. The use of polymers in which the triarylamine radical cation centres are stabilized by Ar2N rather than RO substituents gives improved stability but much poorer spin–coupling properties. Furthermore, the much greater ease of dication (bipolaron) formation makes it difficult to dope these amine–stabilized polymers to the requisite level. Work by other groups exploiting phenoxy and triarlymethyl spin–carriers and the prospects for producing polymers with much larger clusters of ferromagnetically coupled spins are discussed.