Redox reactions, electroactive aniline

In the area of ion sensing, cation recognition by electrodes containing functionalized redox-active polymers has been an area of considerable interest. Fabre and co-workers have reported the development of a boronate-functionalized polypyrrole as a fluoride anion-responsive electroactive polymer film. The electropolymerizable polypyrrole precursor (11) (Fig. 11) was synthesized by the hydroboration reaction of l-(phenylsulfonyl)-3-vinylpyrrole with diisopinocampheylborane followed by treatment with pinacol and the deprotection of the pyrrole ring.33 The same methodology was utilized for the production of several electropolymerizable aromatic compounds (of pyrrole (12) (Fig. 11), thiophene (13 and 14) (Fig. 11), and aniline) bearing boronic acid and boronate substituents as precursors of fluoride- and/or chloride-responsive conjugated polymer.34... 

The electrochemical polymerization of Ti-electron-rich aromatics, such as aniline, pyrrole and thiophene, to obtain electrically conducting polymers is well-known. Some reports describe the polymerization of amino-, pyrrolyl- and hydroxy-substituted tetraphenylporphyrins and suitable substituted phthalocyanines (for reviews see [230,231]) (anodic electropolymerization of 2,9,16,23-tetraaminophthalocyanine (M = Co(II), Ni(II)) [231,232] and 2,9,16,23-tetra(l-pyrrolylalkyleneoxy)phthalocyanines (M = 2H, Zn(II), Co(II) [232])) under formation of polymers 53 and 54 shown as idealized structures. Depending on the reaction conditions the film thicknesses are between around 50 nm and several pm. The films remain electroactive at the electrochemical potential so that oxidation or reduction current envelope grows with each successive potential cycle. Electrochromism, redox mediation and electrocatalysis of the electrically conducting films are summarized in [230,231]. 

In the above ECP-based supercapacitors, the polymer capacity is determined entirely by the electrochemical reaction of the n-conjugated systems. Naoi et al. [52] are pursuing a new polymer engineering strategy to combine the redox process of the Ji-conjugated system with that of other high specific-capacity electroactive moieties. They have demonstrated that an electroactive moiety such as quinone (Q/Q 7Q ), when condensed between two aniline moieties, yields a polymer, poly-(l,5-diaminoanthraquinone). 

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