Conjugated polymers and devices incorporating same

1. An optical, electronic, or optoelectronic device comprising a semiconducting component, the semiconducting component comprising a polymer represented by the formula:

wherein:

M 1 has the formula:

wherein:

R 1 and R 2 independently are a C 1-20 alkyl group or a C 1-20 haloalkyl group; and

R 4 , at each occurrence, independently is selected from H, a halogen, a C 1-20 alkyl group, a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, a C 1-20 alkoxy group, and a C 1-20 alkylthio group;

M 2 has the formula:

wherein:

each Ar independently is an optionally substituted 5-membered heteroaryl group;

π-2 is an optionally substituted 8-24 membered polycyclic heteroaryl group; and

m″ is 1, 2, 3, or 4;

n is an integer in the range of 5 to 10,000;

0 <x <1, 0 <y <1, and the sum of x and y is about 1.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein M 1 is selected from:

wherein R 3 , at each occurrence, independently is selected from a halogen, a C 1-20 alkyl group, a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, a C 1-20 alkoxy group, and a C 1-20 alkylthio group.

3. The device of claim 1 , wherein each of R l and R 2 is a C 1-10 alkyl group.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein each of R l and R 2 is C p H 2p+1-q F q, wherein;

p is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10; and

q is an integer in the range of 1 to 21, provided that q is less than or equal to 2p+1.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein M l is

6. The device of claim 5 , wherein M 1 is selected from:

wherein R 3 , at each occurrence, independently is selected from a halogen, a C 1-20 alkyl group, a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, a C 1-20 alkoxy group, and a C 1-20 alkylthio group.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is an alternating copolymer represented by the formula:

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is selected from:

wherein n is an integer in the range of 5 to 10,000.

9. The device of claim 1 configured as a thin film transistor, wherein the semiconducting component is in contact with a dielectric component, a source electrode, and a drain electrode.

10. The device of claim 1 configured as a photovoltaic cell, wherein the semiconducting component is disposed between an anode and a cathode.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconducting component is provided as a single layer or a laminate comprising multiple layers.

12. The device of claim 1 configured as a light emitting transistor, wherein the semiconducting component is in contact with a dielectric component, a source electrode, and a drain electrode.

13. The device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconducting component is capable of exhibiting a charge carrier mobility (μ) of about 10 -4 cm 2 /V-sec or greater and/or a current on/off ratio (I on /I off ) of about 10 3 or greater.

14. The device of claim 1 , wherein each Ar independently is a thienyl group optionally substituted with 1-2 R 3 groups, wherein R 3 , at each occurrence, independently is selected from a halogen, a C 1-20 alkyl group, a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, a C 1-20 alkoxy group, and a C 1-20 alkylthio group.

15. The device of claim 1 , wherein M 2 is

wherein:

each Ar independently is a thienyl group optionally substituted with 1-2 R 3 groups, wherein R 3 , at each occurrence, independently is selected from a halogen, a C 1-20 alkyl group, a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, a C 1-20 alkoxy group, and a C 1-20 alkylthio group; and

π-2 is selected from:

wherein R 6 , at each occurrence, independently is H, a C 1-40 alkyl group, a C 1-40 haloalkyl group, —(CH 2 CH 2 O) t —R e , —(CF 2 CF 2 O) t R e , —(CH 2 CF 2 O) t R e , or (CF 2 CH 2 O) t R e ; and R 7 , at each occurrence, independently is H, halogen, CN, a C 1-40 alkyl group, a C 1-40 alkoxy group, a C 1-40 alkylthio group, a C 1-40 haloalkyl group, —(OCH 2 CH 2 ) t OR e , —(OCF 2 CF 2 ) t OR e , —(OCH 2 CF 2 ) t OR e , —(OCF 2 CH 2 ) t OR e , —(CH 2 CH 2 O) t —R e , —(CF 2 CF 2 O) t R e , —(CH 2 CF 2 O) t R e , or —(CF 2 CH 2 O) t R e ; wherein t is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10;

and R e is a C 1-20 alkyl group or a C 1-20 haloalkyl group.

16. The device of claim 1 , wherein M 2 is

wherein R 6 is a C 1-40 alkyl group.

17. The device of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is selected from:

wherein n is an integer in the range of 5 to 10,000.

18. The device of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is selected from:

wherein n is an integer in the range of 5 to 10,000.

19. The device of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is selected from:

wherein n is an integer in the range of 5 to 10,000.

20. The device of claim 1 , wherein M 2 is

wherein:

L″, at each occurrence, independently is selected from —CH 2 —and —O—;

R, at each occurrence, independently is selected from a C 1-40 alkyl group, a C 2-40 alkenyl group, a C 2-40 alkynyl group, and a C 1-40 haloalkyl group, wherein one or more non-adjacent CH 2 groups independently are optionally replaced by —O—, provided that O atoms are not linked directly to one another;

X 1 and X 2 , at each occurrence, independently are selected from S, O, and Se; and

X 3 and X 4 , at each occurrence, independently are selected from N, CH, and CF.