Synthesis of poly(2,5-di-n-butoxy-p-phenylene vinylene) and its application in light-emitting diodes

Poly(2,5-di-n-butoxy-p-phenylene vinylene) (DBPPV) was synthesized in a mixed solvent of xylene and tertbutyl alcohol via a dehydrochlorination route, using potassium tert-butoxide as the initiator. The polymer was soluble in organic solvents such as xylene, chloroform and THF. The polymer was characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, ¹H NMR and UV-Visible spectroscopy. Single-layer and a double-layer light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were fabricated using the polymer as the active layer. The peaks of the photoluminescence (pl) and electroluminescence (el) spectra of the LEDs were at 580 nm and 577 nm, respectively. The turn-on voltage and the maximum luminescence of the single-layer LED were 6.4V, and 100 cd/m², while that of the double-layer LED were 4.3V, and 630 cd/m², respectively.