A series of intense photoluminescent (PL) polymers containing silyl groups with chain length
from C1 to C18 has been successfully synthesized through polycondensation reaction. Introducing silyl
groups into a conjugated polymer affords the polymer good processability, amorphousness, good film-forming ability, and sharp emission. A systematic analysis of this series of polymers indicates that
increasing the side chain length of the polymers will slightly lower the thermal stability while increasing
the molecular weight. UV−vis absorption and PL emission spectra of the polymers are quite similar.
Cyclic voltammetric (CV) investigation of the polymers reveals that the side chain length plays an
important role in the redox behavior of the polymers. Shorter side chain polymers possess better
reproducibility of CV scans and higher peak currents, which implies that the chemical/electrical stability
and charge injection and/or transporting ability for shorter side chain polymers are better than those for
longer ones. Devices fabricated from poly[2,5-bis(decyldimethylsilyl)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (DS-PPV)
with the configuration of ITO/DS-PPV/Mg:Ag and ITO/PEDOT:PSS/DS-PPV/Mg:Ag indicate that the hole
injection is the determining factor for device performance. Addition of the hole injection layer can improve
the current efficiency and power efficiency by about 7 times and lower the turn-on voltage from 7.5 to 4.0
V for the two types of devices.
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