Functional Interfaces

The synthesis of two new monomers based on 4-hydroxythiazoles, with a non-classical chromophore structure similar to the luciferin dye of glowworms, is presented. These dyes are functionalized with methacrylates and copolymerized with methyl methacrylate using a RAFT polymerization process. The obtained polymers reveal PDI values below 1.2 and are characterized by NMR spectroscopy, SEC including a diode-array detector, UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. In addition, thin films of the polymers are prepared by spin-coating and investigated regarding their optical properties.