Lectures presented at the 39th IUPAC Congress and 86th Conference of
the Canadian Society for Chemistry: Chemistry at the Interfaces, Ottawa,
Canada, 10-15 August 2003
Part II - Polymers in electronics and photonics: Synthesis, characterizations
and device applications
Preface
Electro- and photoactive polymers are now being considered for use as
the active components in a wide range of electronic and photonic devices,
such as LC and LED displays, electro-optic modulators, optical attenuators,
electronic circuits, solar cells, actuators, memory elements, lasers,
and chemical and biological sensors [see review articles in MRS Bulletin
27(6), 441-464 (2002)]. In comparison with inorganic materials,
functional polymers can be readily fabricated as thin films on substrates
at much lower processing temperatures (for example, below 120 °C)
and even directly incorporated into specifically defined locations on
a substrate using the printing technology [see review articles in MRS
Bulletin 28(11), 802-842 (2003)]. In this issue of Pure
and Applied Chemistry, a series of papers has been selected from
the lectures presented at the symposium on "Polymers in electronics
and photonics: Synthesis, characterizations and device applications",
as part of the joint 39th IUPAC Congress and 86th Conference of the
Canadian Society for Chemistry in Ottawa on 10-15 August 2003.
The article by Yamamoto describes the design, synthesis, and properties
of a new class of metal-binding dendrimers. The authors show the state-of-the-art
synthesis, unique properties, and potential applications of these polyazomethine
dendrimers. In the article by Wong, the synthesis and multifunctional
properties of phenylenevinylene oligomers are described. The structurally
well-defined oligomers are particularly interesting for a number of
applications such as light-emitting diodes and solar cells.
The subsequent two review articles by Dalton and Wang deal with the
recent advances in the field of organic materials for telecommunication
applications. Nonlinear optical polymers as described by Dalton, and
near-infrared electrochromic organic materials as reviewed by Wang,
show a great potential for use in a number of telecommunication devices,
such as modulators and variable optical attenuators that operate in
the near-infrared wavelengths (e.g., at 1310 and 150 nm). The next four
articles by Barrett, Ikeda, Rochon, and Zhao on the azobenzene and photoactive
liquid-crystal polymers are dedicated to the late Prof. Almeria Natansohn
for her significant contributions to the field of azobenzene and liquid-crystal
polymers. Finally, Sundararajan offers a morphological reasoning in
his article to account for the enhanced charge carrier mobility in the
doped polymer systems, which is useful for the rational design of polymer-based
optoelectronic devices.
It was a pleasure to participate in the organization of this event,
and I thank the delegates who supported the symposium and the authors
who agreed to contribute to this publication.
Wayne Z.Y.Wang
Chair, Symposium on "Polymers in electronics and photonics: Synthesis,
characterizations and device applications"