Preparation of Oriented Nanofilms of Oligo(Phenylimines) Synthesized by Mechanochemistry for Optoelectronic Devices

Oligo(phenylimines) hereafter named PI6, PI8 and PI9 were synthesized by condensation reaction between the terephtalaldehyde and diamines of different length size (diaminohexane, diaminooctane and diaminononane) via mechanochemistry. The reactions were carried out without solvent or catalyst and completed after only 90 minutes. The products were characterized by 1H-NMR, UV-Vis, FT-IR spectroscopy, GPC, DSC and Small angle X-ray diffraction. Thin films were prepared by spin coating from concentrated solutions on glass and quartz substrates and mechanically rubbed with a polyacrylonitrile tissue. The oriented films were studied by both Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy (LSCM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. With this last technique, the higher optical dichroism was observed for PI6. The oriented films of this oligo(phenylimine) were thus used as patterns to induce molecular orientation of a fluorescent phenyleneethynylene polymer in order to obtain polarized light emission.