Title: polythiophenes
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - polythiophenes
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.08903
Status: current

Definition
Polymers composed of macromolecules containing exclusively thiophene rings in the backbone (structure-based polymer class name).

Notes
1) Poly(thiophene-2,5-diyl), often written as poly(thiophene), is the generic polythiophene.
2) Regular polymers of a monosubstituted thiophene are prepared by catalytic coupling polymerization of the corresponding thiophene derivative or its defined dimers (dimers mostly provide regular but regioirregular polymers, see the chart below). Oxidative polymerization of an asymmetric thiophene monomer gives an irregular polythiophene with considerably worse functional properties. 
3) Polythiophenes are a subclass of conjugated polymers. The highest practical applications has found poly[3,4-(ethylenedioxy)thiophene] (PEDOT). Regioregular poly(3-alkylthiophenes) are studied as materials for organic solar cells. They become conducting upon oxidative doping.

Example
Polythiophenes and their structure-based (first row) and source-based (second raw) names are: 

Related Terms
- conjugated polymers: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08785
- regioirregular: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08866
- solar cells: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08875

Source
- PAC, 2022, 94, 15. 'Glossary of terms relating to electronic, photonic and magnetic properties of polymers (IUPAC Recommendations 2021)' on page 62 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2020-0501)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08903/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08903/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08903/xml

Citation: Citation: 'polythiophenes' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.08903
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Accessed: 2026-04-18T08:44:41+00:00