A water-soluble conjugated polythiophene with cationic side-chains was studied in solution, and control of the different polymer chain conformations (random-coil versus ordered) was achieved with the addition of salts and the variation of temperature.
Combining femtosecond-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy with resonance Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory computations, we were able to study the photophysical properties as a function of the chain conformation.

This work was carried out in the group of Prof. Natalie Banerji.

References:

• L. Peterhans, E. Alloa, Y. Sheima, L. Vannay, M. Leclerc, C. Corminboeuf, S. C. Hayes and N. Banerji;
  "Salt-induced thermochromism of a conjugated polyelectrolyte"
  Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2017, 19(42), 28853-28866; doi:10.1039/C7CP02734F.