Advanced Functional Materials, Vol.19, No.9, 1335-1342, 2009
An Optically Active Polythiophene Exhibiting Electrochemically Driven Light-Interference Modulation
Optically active polythiophene (PT*) is successfully prepared by electrochemical polymerization using a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) electrolyte solution. Polarizing optical microscopy observatior of the polymer reveal a well-resolved finger-print texture similar to the optical texture of the CLC. Circular dichroism measurements indicate a Cotton effect PT* film produced by the asymmetric polymerization in CLC exhibits a variable diffraction function, electrochemically driven refractive index modulation, and electrochromism originating from the periodic dielectric structure, representing a form of structural electrochromism.