Intrachain electron transfer in conducting oligomers and polymers: the mixed valence approach.

Organic mixed valence compounds consisting of bisdiarylamino charge-bearing units with an oligothiophene bridge and oligothiophene radical cations have been compared using molecular modeling. The study has been performed with oligomers of 1 to 22 thiophene units. These two series of molecules have several properties in common, and intramolecular Single Electron Transfer (SET) in both series can be described within the same theoretical framework.

Conducting polymer electrochemical switching as an easy means for designing active plasmonic devices.

Due to the continuously increasing demand for ultimate miniaturization of electronic and photonic systems, molecular electronics and plasmonic devices are currently booming as alternative technologies because of their very promising potential in writing, reading, storing, and processing information at the nanoscale. Conducting polymers or oligomers have been proposed and used as basic building blocks in molecular and plastic electronics since the end of the 80s. Plasmonics is, on the other hand, an emerging branch of photonics which uses nanostructured materials that support surface plasmons.

Conducting-polymer electrochemical switching as an easy means for control of the molecular properties of grafted transition metal complexes.

Copper(II) 3',4'-bis(N,N'-oxamato)terthiophene has been synthesized and electropolymerized. The copper(II)-complex centers are not affected by the polymerization process, which involves coupling between Calpha carbon atoms of the terthiophene units and leads to a new conjugated polymer consisting of polythiophene chains bearing bis(oxamato)-Cu(II) groups regioregularly grafted onto the polymer backbone. The polymer is stable with respect to polythiophene electroactivity, and no demetallation or modification of the Cu oxidation state occurs over a large potential range.