Pyrrole unit, electrooxidation

Electrooxidation of the pyrrole unit results in the formation of a pyrrole polymer that coats the electrode surface as it is formed. The amount of polymer deposited can be controlled by the number of CV cycles into the pyrrole oxidation wave. With 30, thick polymer layers give broad CV waves in the quinone voltage region, but thinner layers produce a well-resolved wave for the quinone 0/—1 reduction, which is reasonably stable when the electrodes are placed into fresh electrolyte solution with no 30. As in solution, addition of different urea derivatives causes this wave to shift positive. The relative magnitude of the shifts mirror that seen in solution. Furthermore, the 2 moves back to the original potential when the derivatized electrode is put back into a blank solution containing no urea. 

Diaz et al. [599] studied the electrooxidation of various aromatic monomers and oligomers, including pyrrole and its oligomers, to identify relationships between the number of repeat units in the substrate molecule and the oxidation potential as well as the UV-vi absorption maximum of the oxidation product (soluble as well as deposited on the electrode). As can be expected based on theoretical calculations alreacfy mentioned, the oxidation potential shifts to less positive values with an increasing number of pyrrole units in the educt, whereas the absorption maximiun shifts considerably to longer wavelengths. 

While dicarboxylic acid-functional pyrroles have received only cursory attention in condensation polymerizations, other derivatives have been studied extensively. Pyrrole itself has been electrooxidatively polymerized (81CS145) to give a flexible conductive film, presumably containing poly(2,5-pyrrolediyl) units (23) as the main structural feature. The blue-black polymer obviously contains other functionality, as evidenced by elemental analysis and by the fact that it carries a partial positive charge, and it exhibits p-type conductivities approaching the metallic range (e.g. 100 fi-1 cm-1). The main utility of poly(pyrrole) (23) has been for the modification of electrode surfaces, although numerous other applications can be envisioned. 

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