Recent Advances in Polythiophene Synthesis by Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions

The synthesis of well-defined macromolecules using polymerization processes is a challenging and important task in organic chemistry. Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions represent an important tool in the chemists armory, combining high efficiency, low catalyst loadings, high tolerance to a variety of functional groups and solvents and moderate reaction temperatures (25 – 100 °C). The present review is an account of the recent literature involving Pd-catalyzed, cross-coupling based polymerizations for the synthesis of polythiophenes, as well as the use of this and related compounds in polymer and material science. Keywords: Polythiophenes, C-C and C-X bond formation, palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions, polymerization, Stille, Sonogashira, polythiophenes (PT), tetrahydrofuran (THF), nickel(bipyridine) dichloride, Thiophene polymers, Porphyrin-derivatives, Tetraphosphines, Nickel Complexes, carbene moiety, chiral palladium