A reflection on ‘Controlled synthesis of conjugated random copolymers in a droplet-based microreactor’

Abstract

Flow chemistry offers an attractive route to making functional materials, providing a high level of reaction control and easy scalability to high volumes. In 2014, Bannock and co-workers reported a droplet-based flow reactor capable of controllably synthesising regioregular random copolymers of the semiconducting polymers poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(3-hexylselenophene) (P3HS) (J. H. Bannock, M. Al-Hashimi, S. H. Krishnadasan, J. J. M. Halls, M. Heeney and J. C. de Mello, Mater. Horiz., 2014, 1, 214–218, https://doi.org/10.1039/C3MH00066D). In this reflection, we discuss how the work came about, what followed from it, and the extent to which the advantages of droplet chemistry outlined in the paper have been confirmed by other researchers.