Two kinds of conjugated main-chain
ferrocene (Fc)-containing polymers, PFcT8 and PFcTP8, were successfully prepared
through the facile melt-state polymerization (MSP) of corresponding
monomers which combine the Fc motif with thiophene or thiophene-methane
groups. The simple, low-cost MSP was chosen as the method, while thiophene
or thiophene-methane groups served as reactive sites for its feature
of easy polymerization by a simple heating process. The prepared metallopolymers
were characterized by 1H NMR, FTIR, and photochemical and
electrochemical analysis, metal content, and thermal stability. The
results show that metallopolymers with a regular backbone and nearly
quantitative metal content were obtained. In addition, the metallopolymer PFcTP8 has the smallest optical band gap (absorption edge
at 1100 nm) and high thermal stability among reported Fc-containing
polymers, which indicates the thiophene-methane-based Fc-containing
structure is a good candidate to construct functional polymers through
MSP. The low band gap and high thermal stability of prepared conjugated
metallopolymers show their potential application in conducting materials
with high working temperature.