Synthesis of conjugated organic polymers and oligomers relevant to the electronics industry using silica supported palladium heterogeneous catalysts

Printed electronics are changing our world. The ability to print electronically active materials, like we donewspapers or images on your home printer, has opened the door for the development of electronic devices thatare flexible, stretchable, and ultra light-weight. Printing, as opposed to batch processing used for the productionof current silicon based electronics, also allows for continuous large area deposition leading to dramaticallylower production costs.The current printed electronics market is valued at approximately $1B, and forecast to grow to $350B over thenext 20 years. Key technologies include field effect transistors, chemical sensors, RFID tags, and light emittingdevices such as flat screen televisions, electronic paper, and flexible e-readers.The vast majority of printed electronic devices rely on conjugated organic molecules and/or polymers as theelectronically active material. One of the primary limitations of these organics is that their synthesis oftenrequires the use of expensive homogeneous palladium catalysts. These palladium catalysts are non-recyclableand often find their way into the final products which can negatively effect device performance. New processesare required to synthesize these electronically active organic materials in a way that is amenable to massproduction.This proposal aims to take advantage of new heterogeneous palladium catalysts developed by the Canadianchemical company SiliCycle, and employ them in the synthesis of high performance organic electronicmaterials. The heterogeneous nature of these new catalysts should allow for less palladium to be used, catalystrecycle-ability, and prevent palladium leaching into the final products.Success of this project will result in new methods to make important organic electronic materials in alow-cost and green fashion. In addition, SiliCycle and Canada will be able to gain a stronger foothold in theever growing printed electronics industry.