Polyfluorenes with polyphenylene dendron side chains: toward non-aggregating, light-emitting polymers.

A polyfluorene 12 has been prepared in which bulky polyphenylene dendrimer substituents suppress formation of long wavelength emitting aggregates, thus giving a polymer with pure blue emission. Absorption- and emission spectra and molecular modeling confirm that the bulky dendrimer side chains do not cause extra torsion between the fluorene units. New polyfluorenes with 9,9-diaryl substituents have been prepared to determine the minimum size of substituent necessary for aggregation suppression. An LED using 12 has been demonstrated to produce blue emission with onset voltages below 4 V.