title: Insulated molecular wire with highly conductive pi-conjugated polymer core.
abstract: We have recently developed a new method for synthesizing polyrotaxanes with a high covering ratio, rigidity, photoluminescence efficiency, and solubility in a variety of organic solvents through the polymerization of structurally defined rotaxane monomers. The rigid rodlike structure of the pi-conjugated core polymers in these polyrotaxanes is thought to facilitate the effective transport of charge carriers. Here we applied this method to the synthesis of a polyrotaxane having a poly(phenylene ethynylene) backbone by the Sonogashira copolymerization of a structurally defined rotaxane with a linker molecule. According to time-resolved microwave conductivity and transient absorption spectroscopy measurements, the hole mobility along the pi-conjugated polymer chain of the polyrotaxane thus formed was extremely high and comparable to that in amorphous silicon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Hydrocarbon Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, and PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan. terao@scl.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Terao
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuda
authors.forename: Nobuaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kambe
authors.forename: Masateru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taniguchi
authors.forename: Tomoji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: Akinori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saeki
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seki