Thiophene‐Based Polymers: Synthesis and Applications

Driven their utility in a variety of electronic field, π-conjugated polymers have attracted considerable research attention in recent years. Among π-conjugated polymers, polythiophene and its derivatives, all collectively referred to as thiophene-based polymers, represent one of the largest classes of π-conjugated polymer and is widely synthesized and studied experimentally for utilizing in electronic devices such as organic light-emitting diodes, organic thin-film transistors, organic photovoltaics, biosensors, etc. Various synthetic studies of thiophene-based polymers starting from an oxidation polymerization for pristine polythiophenes to direct arylation polycondensation for donor–acceptor alternating polymers have been developed to study a variety of electronic and structural properties of these polymers. In this chapter, we will focus our discussion on the recent advance in a general view of thiophene-based polymers from various synthetic strategies to their device applications.