Neutron diffraction studies of deuterated and hydrogenated polyhexylthiophenes

Neutron diffraction studies, which constitute the first neutron structure work on solid polythiophenes, were performed on as-prepared powders of polyhexylthiophene (PHT) with the hexyl side chains deuterated (PHT-d) and hydrogenated (PHT-h). Although still preliminary in character, the diffraction profiles revealed two important features: (1) the strongest diffraction peak is weaker in PHT-d than in PHT-h, and (2) the diffuse scattering component is considerably stronger in PHT-d, both facts pointing to a considerable degree of side-chain disorder.