Highly luminescent BODIPY-based organoboron polymer exhibiting supramolecular self-assemble structure.

A novel class of rod-coil type-organoboron polymers with p-phenylene-ethynylene as the rod segment and long alkyl chain (decyl group) as coil segment has been prepared from a Sonogashira-Hagihara coupling reaction of a BODIPY-based monomer having bis-iodophenyl and decyl groups with diyne monomers, 1,4-diethynylbenzene (a), 1,4-diethynyl-2,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzene (b), and 2,7-diethynyl-9,9-dihexyl-9H-fluorene (c). The characterization by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the strong tendency of the obtained polymers, 2a, 2b, and 2c, to self-assemble into particles in solution and as-casted films on a micron-nm scale. Especially, 2a showed the presence of nm-sized particles and micron-sized fiber-like structures formed by aggregation of each particle. Further, in CHCl3, the gelation of 2a by three-dimensional aggregation of each fiber was observed at room temperature after 24 h. Their luminescent properties showed high energy transfer efficiency from pi-conjugated polymer linkers to BODIPY moieties (PhiF > 71%).