Redox properties ferrocene polymers

The same reasons for the interest in incorporating ferrocene units into polymers also provided motivation for the synthesis of dendritic macromolecules of well-defined size and structure containing ferrocenyl units. An important additional rationale for the construction of ferrocenyl dendrimers is provided by the fact that such macromolecules raise the possibility of combining the unique and valuable redox properties associated with the ferrocene nucleus with the highly structured macromolecular chemistry. This may provide access to materials of nanoscopic size possessing unusual symmetrical architectures, as well as specific physical and chemical properties which would be expected to differ from those of the ferrocene-based materials prepared to date. 

The redox properties of the ferrocene unit were also used to control the liquid-crystalline organization of side-chain liquid-crystalline poly(methacrylates) the reduced polymer gave rise to smectic C and smectic A phases whereas the oxidized polymer showed a nematic phase. ... 

A comprehensive summary of the syntheses and applications of the ferrocene polymer brushes has been presented. Ferrocene-functionalized polymer brushes covalently bonded or physisorbed on solid substrate surfaces can be readily prepared via well-known surface modification techniques, such as surface-initiated polymerizations, reaction of the end-functional groups of polymer chains with substrate surfaces, and host-guest interaction. These electroactive polymer brushes have found applications in biosensors, anion-exchange chromatography, and redox-controlled modification of surface wetting properties. 

Ferrocenyl-based polymers are established as useful materials for the modification of electrodes, as electrochemical biosensors, and as nonlinear optical systems. The redox behavior of ferrocene can be tuned by substituent effects and novel properties can result for example, permethylation of the cyclopentadienyl rings lowers the oxidation potential, and the chaige transfer salt of decamethylfer-rocene with tetracyanocthylene, [FeCpJ]" (TCNE], is a ferromagnet below = 4.8 K, and electrode surfaces modified with a pentamethylferrocene derivative have been used as sensors for cytochrome c These diverse properties have provided an added impetus to studies on ferrocene dendrimers. 

Perhaps the original hope for these polymers was that they would act simultaneously as immobilisation matrix and mediator, facilitating electron transfer between the enzyme and electrode and eliminating the need for either O2 or an additional redox mediator. This did not appear to be the case for polypyrrole, and in fact while a copolymer of pyrrole and a ferrocene modified pyrrole did achieve the mediation (43), the response suggested that far from enhancing the charge transport, the polypyrrole acted as an inert diffusion barrier. Since these early reports, other mediator doped polypyrroles have been reported (44t45) and curiosity about the actual role of polypyrrole or any other electrochemically deposited polymer, has lead to many studies more concerned with the kinetics of the enzyme linked reactions and the film transport properties, than with the achievement of a real biosensor. 

Because of the reported property advantages of the ferrocene moiety in polymers, this work was undertaken to ascertain if vinyl ferrocene could be redox copolymerized with other common monomers without serious problems. 

Ferrocene modified flexible polymeric electron transfer systems Ferrocene and its derivatives are readily available and commonly used organometalUc redox mediators, so it is quite natural that they were selected first to synthesize mediator modified polymeric electron transfer systems. Siloxane pol5uners are flexible but aqueous insoluble pol3nmers. As previously indicated, a flexible polymer backbone allows close contact between the redox center(s) of the enzyme and the mediator, and the water insoluble property of the polymer prevents not only redox polymer from leaching into bulk media but also prevents enzyme diffusion away fi-om the electrode surface by entrapping it in the polymer/carbon paste matrix. Therefore, ferrocene and... 

II. REDOX, OPTICAL, AND PHOTOCONDUCTING PROPERTIES OF CONJUGATED FERROCENE OLIGOMERS AND POLYMERS... 

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