Poly(n,n-dimethylpropargylamine): a /spl pi/-conjugated polymer as macromolecular ligand

Summary form only given. Complexes between transition metals ions and macromolecular ligands have been widely studied in the past, due to their interesting electrochemical and catalytic properties. Polymers with a /spl pi/-conjugated backbone, on the other hand, have some peculiar electrical properties that make them interesting materials for molecular electronics. Recently, we have prepared some complexes between Ni(II) and a x-conjugated polymer by direct reaction of N,N-dimethylpropargylammine [HC/spl /C-CH/sub 2/N(CH/sub 3/)/sub 2/] and [Ni(NCS)/sub 2/(PPh/sub 3/)/sub 2/], using different molar ratios. The monomer is polymerized via opening of the triple bond and, simultaneously, the nitrogen atoms of the pending groups of the polymer interact with the nickel atoms of the catalyst by displacing one or both of the two phosphine ligands. When both the phosphifies are substituted by two amine groups on two different polymer chains, a cross-linked polymer is obtained. The chemical structure of the polymer-metal complexes have been determined by IR and XPS spectroscopy.