What is "polyfluorene"

n. (context organic chemistry English) Any of a class of electroluminescent aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons consisting of many fluorene units attached end-to-end

Polyfluorenes are a class of polymeric materials. They are of interest because similar to other conjugated polymers, they are currently being investigated for use in light-emitting diodes, field-effect transistors, and plastic solar cells. They are not a naturally occurring material, but are designed and synthesized for their applications. Modern chemistry has enabled adaptable synthesis and control over polyfluorenes that has facilitated use in many organic electronic applications.

Academic and industrial research are interested in these polymers because of their optical and electrical properties. They have high photoluminescence quantum yields. They are a prototypical conjugated polymer but they are the only class of conjugated polymers which can be tuned to emit light throughout the entire visible region. Polyfluorenes are primarily interesting because of the optoelectronic properties imbued by their chromophoric constituents and their extended conjugation. The design of polyfluorene derivatives relies on the character and properties of their monomers. Thus, the discovery and development of these polymeric repeat units has had a profound influence on the development of polyfluorenes. The physical properties of polyfluorenes differ depending on their substitution pattern.