Fused bithiophene-vinylene polymers

1. A polymer, comprising a repeating unit A and optionally a repeating unit B, corresponding to formulae

wherein

D=O, C(CN) 2 , or CR 4 R 5 ;

E=CR 4 R 5 , NR 4 , O, or S;

W, at each occurrence, is independently a monocyclic or polycylic moiety optionally substituted with 1-4 R a groups;

R a , at each occurrence, is independently a) a halogen, b) —CN, c) —NO 2 , d) oxo,e) —OH, f) ═C(R b ) 2 , g) a C 1-20 alkyl group, h) a C 2-20 alkenyl group, i) a C 2-20 alkynyl group, j) a C 1-20 alkoxy group, k) a C 1-20 alkylthio group, l) a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, m) a —Y—C 3-10 cycloalkyl group, n) a —Y—C 6-14 aryl group, o) a —Y-3-12 membered cycloheteroalkyl group, or p) a —Y-5-14 membered heteroaryl group, wherein each of the C 1-20 alkyl group, the C 2-20 alkenyl group, the C 2-20 alkynyl group, the C 3-10 cycloalkyl group, the C 6-14 aryl or haloaryl group, the 3-12 membered cycloheteroalkyl group, and the 5-14 membered heteroaryl group is optionally substituted with 1-4 R b groups;

R b , at each occurrence, is independently a) a halogen, b) —CN, c) —NO 2 , d) oxo, e) —OH, f) —NH 2 , g) —NH(C 1-20 alkyl), h) —N(C 1-20 alkyl) 2 , i) —N(C 1-20 alkyl)—C 6-14 aryl, j) —N(C 6-14 aryl) 2 , k) —S(O) m H, l) —S(O) m —C 1-20 alkyl, m) —S(O) 2 OH, n) —S(O) m —OC 1-20 alkyl, o) —S(O) m OC 6-14 aryl, p) —CHO, q) —C(O)—C 1-20 alkyl, r) —C(O)—C 6-14 aryl, s) —C(O)OH, t) —C(O)—OC 1-20 alkyl, u) —C(O)—OC 6-14 aryl, v) —C(O)NH 2 , w) —C(O)NH—C 1-20 alkyl, x) —C(O)N(C 1-20 alkyl) 2 , y) —C(O)NH—C 6-14 aryl, z) —C(O)N(C 1-20 alkyl)—C 6-14 aryl, aa) —C(O)N(C 6-14 aryl) 2 , ab) —C(S)NH 2 , ac) —C(S)NH—C 1-20 alkyl, ad) —C(S)N(C 1-20 alkyl) 2 , ae) —C(S)N(C 6-14 aryl) 2 , af) —C(S)N(C 1-20 alkyl)—C 6-14 aryl, ag) —C(S)NH—C 6-14 aryl, ah) —S(O) m NH 2 , ai) —S(O) m NH(C 1-20 alkyl), aj) —S(O) m N(C 1-20 alkyl) 2 , ak) —S(O) m NH(C 6-14 aryl), al) —S(O) m N(C 1-20 alkyl)—C 6-14 aryl, am) —S(O) m N(C 6-14 aryl) 2 , an) SiH 3 , ao) SiH(C 1-20 alkyl) 2 , ap) SiH 2 (C 1-20 alkyl), ar) —Si(C 1-20 alkyl) 3 , as) a C 1-20 alkyl group, at) a C 2-20 alkenyl group, au) a C 2-20 alkynyl group, av) a C 1-20 alkoxy group, aw) a C 1-20 alkylthio group, ax) a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, ay) a C 3-10 cycloalkyl group, az) a C 6-14 aryl or haloaryl group, ba) a 3-12 membered cycloheteroalkyl group, or bb) a 5-14 membered heteroaryl group;

Y, at each occurrence, is independently a divalent C 1-6 alkyl group, a divalent C 1-6 haloalkyl group, or a covalent bond;

m, at each occurrence, is independently 0, 1 or 2;

R 1 , R 2 , R 5 , R 6 , at each occurrence, are independently H, CN, a C 1-30 alkyl group, a C 2-30 alkenyl group, a C 1-30 haloalkyl group, -L-Ar 1 , -L-Ar 1 —Ar 1 , -L-Ar 1 —R 7 , or -L-Ar 1 —Ar 1 —R 7 ;

L, at each occurrence, is independently —O—, —Y—O—Y—, —S—, —S(O)—, —Y—S—Y—, —C(O)—, —NR c C(O)—, —NR c —, —SiR c 2 —, —Y—[SiR c 2 ]—Y—, a divalent C 1-30 alkyl group, a divalent C 1-30 alkenyl group, a divalent C 1-30 haloalkyl group, or a covalent bond;

R c , at each occurrence, is H, a C 1-20 alkyl group, or a —Y—C 6-14 aryl group;

Ar 1 , at each occurrence, is independently a C 6-14 aryl group or a 5-14 membered heteroaryl group, each optionally substituted with 1to 5 substituents selected from the group consisting of a halogen, —CN, a C 1-6 alkyl group, a C 1-6 alkoxy group, and a C 1-6 haloalkyl group; and

R 7 , at each occurrence, is independently a C 1-20 alkyl group, a C 2-20 alkenyl group, a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, a C 1-20 alkoxy group, -L′-Ar 2 , -L′-Ar 2 —Ar 2 , -L′-Ar 2 —R 8 , or -L′-Ar 2 —Ar 2 —R 8 ;

L′, at each occurrence, is independently —O—, —Y—O—Y—, —S—, —S(O)—, —Y—S—Y—, —C(O)', —NR c C(O)—, —NR c —, —SiR c 2 —, —Y—[SiR c 2 ]—Y—, a divalent C 1-20 alkyl group, a divalent C 1-20 alkenyl group, a divalent C 1-20 haloalkyl group, or a covalent bond;

Ar 2 , at each occurrence, is independently a C 6-14 aryl group or a 5-14 membered heteroaryl group, each optionally substituted with 1-5 substituents selected from the group consisting of a halogen, —CN, a C 1-6 alkyl group, a C 1-6 alkoxy group, and a C 1-6 haloalkyl group;

R 8 , at each occurrence, is a C 1-20 alkyl group, a C 2-20 alkenyl group, a C 1-20 haloalkyl group, or a C 1-20 alkoxy group;

Y, at each occurrence, is independently a divalent C 1-6 alkyl group, a divalent C 1-6 haloalkyl group, or a covalent bond;

R 3 and R 4 , at each occurrence, are independently H, CN, a C 1-30 alkyl group, a C 2-30 alkenyl group, a C 1-30 haloalkyl group, or -L-R 9 ;

L, at each occurrence, is independently —O—, —Y—O—Y—, —S—, —S(O)—, —Y—S—Y—, —C(O)—, —NR c′ C(O)—, —NR c′ —, a divalent C 1-30 alkyl group, a divalent C 1-30 alkenyl group, a divalent C 1-30 haloalkyl group, or a covalent bond;

R c′ , at each occurrence, is H or a C 1-20 alkyl group;

R 9 , at each occurrence, is independently a C 1-20 alkyl group, a C 2-20 alkenyl group, a C 1-20 haloalkyl group;

Y, at each occurrence, is independently a divalent C 1-6 alkyl group, a divalent C 1-6 haloalkyl group, or a covalent bond; and

c is from 1 to 6.

2. The polymer of claim 1 , comprising the repeating unit B,

wherein the repeating unit A and the repeating unit B are in random order or in alternating order, and

the number n of the repeating unit A and the repeating unit B is from 2 to 5000.

3. The polymer of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a homopolymer or alternating copolymer of general formula (I)

wherein Z, X, W c , R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are defined as in claim 1 ;

x is 0 or 1; and

n is an integer greater than 1.

4. The polymer of claim 1 , wherein sulfur 5 and R 6 are a C 1-30 alkyl, a C 1-30 haloalkyl or a C 2-30 alkenyl group.

5. The polymer of claim 1 , wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 are hydrogen.

6. The polymer of claim 1 , wherein X is N(R 5 ) or Si(R 5 R 6 ).

7. The polymer of claim 1 , wherein:

W is an optionally substituted monocyclic, bicyclic or heterocyclic moiety selected from the group consisting of

 and

R 1 , R 2 , R 5 and R 6 are, at each occurrence, independently as defined in claim 1 .

8. The polymer of claim 1 , wherein n is an integer between 2 and 5000.

9. The polymer of claim 1 , wherein:

the repeating unit A is selected from the group consisting of

 and

R 1 , R 4 and R 5 are defined as in claim 1 .

10. The polymer of claim 1 , wherein:

the repeating unit A is selected from the group consisting of

 and

R 4 and R 5 are defined as claim 1 .

11. A composition, comprising at least one polymer of claim 1 dissolved or dispersed in a liquid medium.

12. The composition of claim 11 , wherein the liquid medium comprises water or an organic solvent and optionally at least one additive independently selected from the group consisting of a viscosity modulator, a detergent, a dispersant, a binding agent, a compatibilizing agent, a curing agent, an initiator, a humectant, an antifoaming agent, a wetting agent, a pH modifier, a biocide, and a bactereriostat.

13. A device, comprising at least one polymer of claim 1 .

14. A thin film semiconductorm, comprising at least one polymer of claim 1 .

15. A field effect transistor device, comprising the thin film semiconductor of claim 14 .

16. The field effect transistor device of claim 15 , wherein the field effect transistor has a structure selected from the group consisting of a top-gate bottom-contact structure, a bottom-gate top-contact, a structure, a top-gate top-contact structure, and a bottom-gate bottom-contact structure.

17. The field effect transistor device of claim 15 , further comprising a dielectric material, wherein the dielectric material comprises an organic dielectric material, an inorganic dielectric material, or a hybrid organic/inorganic dielectric material.

18. A photovoltaic device, comprising the thin film semiconductor of claim 14 .

19. An organic light emitting device, comprising the thin film semiconductor of claim 14 .