Synthesis and Evaluation of 2,5-Linked Alternating Pyridine-Thiophene Oligomers

The first iterative access to alternating 2,5-linked pyridine-thiophene (Py-Th) oligomers is presented. These oligomers exhibit strong absorption and emission, even in the solid state (picture of the longest oligomer, above). Protonation leads to large red shifts in emission and, unlike most known thiophene-containing oligomers, they are readily reduced but not oxidized. These species represent a promising new class of materials for further study and potential application.