A new s-tetrazine-based low-bandgap semiconducting polymer, PCPDTTTz, was designed and synthesized. This is the first solution-processable conjugated polymer with tetrazine in the main chain. This polymer shows good thermal stability and broad absorption covering 450-700 nm. The HOMO and LUMO energy levels were estimated to be -5.34 and -3.48 eV, with an electrochemical bandgap of 1.86 eV. Simple polymer solar cells based on PCPDTTTz and PC(71)BM exhibit a calibrated power conversion efficiency of 5.4%.

A new, practical approach to a variety of highly electrooptically active polymers for device development is described. It involves the use of a new thermally cross-linkable, hyperbranched oligomer containing nonlinear optical (NLO) chromophores as a macromolecular dopant in a common host polymer. A series of NLO polymeric blends were readily formulated and showed large and stable electrooptic (EO) coefficients (up to 65 pm/V). In comparison with previously studied linear NLO polyimides and guest-host polymers doped with molecular chromophores and even linear NLO analogous oligomers, this new approach offers clear advantages for device development in terms of improved poling efficiency, larger EO coefficients, good temporal stability, and versatile material formulation.

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Organic solids and polymers that absorb in the near-infrared (NIR) region (1000-2000 nm) represent a class of emerging materials and show a great potential for use in photonics and telecommunications. The radical anions of stacked aromatic imides, fused phorphyrin arrays, polythiophenes, sandwich-type lanthanide bisphthalocyanines, semiquinones, and mixed-valence dinuclear metal complexes are a few known examples of NIR-absorbing organic materials. Most of these NIR-absorbing materials are also electrochemically active or electrochromic (EC). This brief review covers several types of NIR-absorbing organic materials and discusses their potentials for applications in EC variable optical attenuators (VOAs).