The synthesis and characterization of a set of conjugated polymers, poly(1,4-phenylene–ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene–vinylene)s (PPE–PPVs), with a dissymmetrical configuration (partial or total) of alkoxy side chains is reported. Five new polymers bearing octyloxy and/or octadecyloxy side chains at the phenylene–ethynylene and phenylene–vinylene segments, respectively, were obtained. Two symmetrical substituted polymers were used for comparison. Polymers with weight-average molecular weight, Mw, up to 430 000 g/mol and degree of polymerization between 17 and 322 were obtained by a Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons olefination polycondensation reaction of the respective luminophoric dialdehydes and bisphosphonates. As expected, identical conjugated backbones in all polymers results in very similar photophysical response in dilute solution, with high fluorescence quantum yields between 50% and 80%. In contrast, the thin film properties are dependent on the combinatorial effects of side chain configuration, molecular weight, and film thickness parameters, which are the basis of the resulting comparison and discussion.

Poly(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene-vinylene) (PPE-PPV) copolymers have attracted quite a lot of attention in the last few years for electronic device applications owing to their enhanced fluorescence. In this work, we focus on one particular PPE-PPV copolymer with dissymmetrically substituted 1,4-phenylene-ethynylene and symmetrically substituted 1,4-phenylene-vinylene building units. Six successively performed cyclic voltammograms are presented, measured during the oxidation reactions. As the oxidation onset of the electrochemical reaction shifts to lower potentials in each cycle, this behavior is elucidated by using spectroscopic techniques ranging from UV/Vis/near-IR to mid-IR including spin-resonance techniques. Hence, these findings help to explain some of the copolymer's most advantageous properties in terms of possible oxidation products.

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