Microwave-assisted synthesis of poly(3-hexylthiophene) via direct oxidation with FeCl3

In this work, CoolMate microwave synthesis system was employed to synthesize soluble poly(3-hexylthiophene) by direct oxidation of 3-hexylthiophene monomer with FeCl₃ as oxidant. P3HT was synthesized varying reaction time by 2 h, 1 h and 0.5 h. According to the results optimal microwave radiation time for synthesis was 1 h. On the other hand, P3HT was synthesized in two different solvents: chloroform (CHCl₃) and dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂). The obtained yields depend on the solvent and the reaction time used in the synthesis, microwave-assisted synthesis leads to outstanding increase in yield (with dichloromethane solvent). Homogeneous thin films were prepared by spin-coating technique from toluene. Physicochemical characterization of P3HT polymers was carried out: changes in weight molecular distribution and polydispersity were obtained by HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography); dyads and triads percent were analyzed by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance). Surface topographical changes were obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM images revealed that the surface morphology depends on synthesis method, reaction time and solvent used. Finally the samples were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and ultraviolet–visible analysis (UV–vis). Compared with the traditional method (without microwave), this method provided considerable decrease in the reaction time, both lower polydispersity and molecular weight, less volume of solvents for the synthesis, as well as more alternatives for solvent choice. The results confirmed the versatility of the procedure by microwave, which yields polymeric materials in 1 h and has no adverse effects on the polymers quality.