Conjugated polymers containing mixed-ligand ruthenium(II) complexes. Synthesis, characterization, and investigation of photoconductive properties

A series of novel conjugated polymers containing mixed-ligand ruthenium complexes has been synthesized and characterized. These polymers exhibit interesting photoconductive properties. It was found that the redox and optical properties of the resulting materials were strongly affected by the structures of coordinated ligands of the ruthenium complex. The presence of σ-donating diketonate and phenolate groups in ligands substantially lowered the Ru(III/II) potentials relative to analogous polypyridyl complexes. A range of transition energies of metal-to-ligand charge transfer was observed. The photoconductivity of the polymer at long wavelengths is strongly enhanced by the metal complexes due to the metal-to-ligand charge-transfer transition.