Electro- and magneto-responsible chiral polymers

Helical polymers and macromolecules have precisely ordered stereostructures, and their potential applications include chiral separation and sensing based on molecular recognition and liquid crystalline formation by molecular ordering. Among them, π-conjugated polymers with a helical structure have often exhibited unique electro- and magneto-responsibilies. In this review, we describe the helical π-conjugated macromolecules as electro- and magneto-responsible materials including our recent studies. In Chapter 2, the recent studies of helical polymeric molecules with π-conjugated structures are reviewed. We focus on "helicene" derivatives, which consist of fused-benzene and/or thiophene rings, in Chapter 3 and summarize their syntheses, characteristics, and optical properties based on the stiff structures and molecular ordering. Helical ladder polymers, "poly(thiaheterohelicene)s" comprised of fused-benzothiophene rings, are discussed in Chapter 4 among their stiff helical structure and π-conjugation. The combined functions of electro- and magneto-properties of the chiral polymer are described using the example of poly(thiaheterohelicene)s, such as electron transmission along the helical main-chain and a molecule model of a molecular solenoid, in the final section.