Polyselenophenes, the preparation thereof and the use thereof

A polyselenophene comprising one or more structural units of the formulae (II) or (I) and (II)

• where
• X and Y can be identical or different and, independently of one another, are hydrogen with the proviso that only one of X and Y is hydrogen;
• a linear or branched C1-C22-alkyl group;
• a linear or branched C1-C22-alkoxy group;
• a linear or branched C1-C22-alkyloxyalkyl group;
• a linear or branched C1-C22-acyl group;
• a linear or branched C1-C22-thioacyl group;
• a linear or branched C1-C22-thioacyloxy group;
• a linear or branched C1-C22-acyloxy group;
• a C5-C8-cycloalkyl group, a C6-C18-aryl group or a C5-C8-heterocyclic group, each of which in turn can be substituted by one or more linear or branched C1-C22-alkyl group(s), one or more linear or branched C1-C22-alkoxy group(s), one or more linear or branched C1-C22-alkyloxyalkyl group(s), one or more linear or branched C1-C22-acyl group(s) or one or more linear or branched C1-C22-thioacyl group(s);
• NO2;
• or NHR1 where R1 can be identical or different and is in each case hydrogen, a linear or branched C1-C22-alkyl group, a linear or branched C1-C22-alkoxy group, a linear or branched C1-C22-alkyloxyalkyl group, a linear or branched C1-C22-acyl group or a linear or branched C1-C22-thioacyl group, or X and Y form, together with the atoms to which they are bonded, a carbon-containing ring system which, besides carbon, has nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), sulfur (S) or phosphorus (P) hetero atoms or mixtures of two or more of these hetero atoms,
• where this ring system can in turn be substituted on the carbon atom(s), the nitrogen atom(s) or the phosphorus atom(s) in each case by a group Z where Z is in each case, independently of one another, a group as defined above for X and Y, or
• two adjacent groups Z together form a radical depicted by one of the following formulae (III) to (VI)
• where A is carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) or mixtures of two or more of these atoms,
• and in the case where A is carbon, each of these A either carries a hydrogen atom or can in turn be substituted as defined above for X and Y which polyselenophene is prepared by the Stille reaction, wherein 2,5-dihaloselenophene or 2,5-ditriflateselenophene and selenophene derivatives which are bis(trialkyltin)-substituted on the carbon atoms adjacent to the sulfur, which correspond to the structural unit (II) defined above, or 2,5-bis(trialkyltin)selenophene and selenophene derivatives which are bis(halo)- or bis(triflate)-substituted on the carbon atoms adjacent to the sulfur, which correspond to the structural unit (II) defined above, are reacted with one another in suitable solvents in the presence of suitable Pd(0) or Pd(II) complexes or salts thereof as catalyst, or
• the Suzuki reaction, wherein 2,5-dihalo- or 2,5-triflate-substituted selenophenes which correspond to the structural unit (II) according to the invention, are reacted with selenophenediboric acid or selenophenediboric acid esters in the presence of a base of a palladium complex of the structure PdL4 (L=ligand), or wherein the diboric acid (ester) derivatives of the derivatives corresponding to the above structural units (II) are reacted with 2,5-dihalo- or 2,5-triflate-substituted selenophene in the presence of a base and a palladium complex, as defined above, or by said Stille or said Suzuki reaction, which is carried out between two kinds of suitably substituted selenophene derivatives corresponding to the structural unit (II).