Toward zero band gap and superconducting conjugated multidimensional polymers

The main objective of the proposed project is the synthesis of new amidine monomers and then - polymers with a three-dimensional structure, characterized by the occurrence of a band gap with a value close to zero. Monomers will be synthesized by the reaction of appropriate aromatic anhydrides or dianhydrides with diamines. For example, the use of aromatic meta- and para-diamines will allow the formation of linear polymers with bis(diimide) units; use of ortho-diamines results in the formation of a ladder polymer with five-membered heterocyclic rings (reference systems). However, we propose the synthesis of monomers produced by annulation of aromatic dianhydrides and 1,8-naphthalenediamine, which results in the presence of perimidine unit in the monomer structure, which we discovered to be involved in oxidative coupling of monomer to polymer structure. In addition, we propose the use of dianhydrides functionalised also in aromatic core by polymerizable units (e.g. thiophene, pyrrole, EDOT, etc.), which will ultimately enable stiffening of two-dimensional structure. In addition, increased long-range interactions, involving, inter alia, the perimidine units may promote supramolecular organization in a third-dimension. In summary, the proper choice of anhydride and amine reagents can result in the formation of a suitable monomer, also resulting in a polymer with a planar two-dimensional backbone and significant long-range interactions between the polymeric 2D layers, which can ultimately ensure the production of a new organic material with high electrical conductivity and a low bandgap.