Explaining the Cyclic Voltammetry of a Poly(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene-vinylene) Copolymer upon Oxidation by using Spectroscopic Techniques

Christina Enengl; Sandra Enengl; Nassima Bouguerra; Marek Havlicek; Helmut Neugebauer; Daniel A M Egbe

doi:10.1002/cphc.201601031

Explaining the Cyclic Voltammetry of a Poly(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene-vinylene) Copolymer upon Oxidation by using Spectroscopic Techniques

Chemphyschem. 2017 Jan 4;18(1):93-100. doi: 10.1002/cphc.201601031. Epub 2016 Nov 25.

Authors

Christina Enengl^{1

2}, Sandra Enengl^{1

2}, Nassima Bouguerra^{2

3}, Marek Havlicek^{2

4}, Helmut Neugebauer², Daniel A M Egbe²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Polymer Science, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040, Linz, Austria.
² Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells (LIOS), Physical Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040, Linz, Austria.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Electrochemistry, Corrosion and Energetic Valorization Laboratory, A. MIRA University, Targa Ouzemmour, 06000, Bejaia, Algeria.
⁴ Czech Metrology Institute, Okruzni 31, 638 00, Brno, Czech Republic.

PMID: 27885779
DOI: 10.1002/cphc.201601031

Abstract

Poly(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene-vinylene) (PPE-PPV) copolymers have attracted quite a lot of attention in the last few years for electronic device applications owing to their enhanced fluorescence. In this work, we focus on one particular PPE-PPV copolymer with dissymmetrically substituted 1,4-phenylene-ethynylene and symmetrically substituted 1,4-phenylene-vinylene building units. Six successively performed cyclic voltammograms are presented, measured during the oxidation reactions. As the oxidation onset of the electrochemical reaction shifts to lower potentials in each cycle, this behavior is elucidated by using spectroscopic techniques ranging from UV/Vis/near-IR to mid-IR including spin-resonance techniques. Hence, these findings help to explain some of the copolymer's most advantageous properties in terms of possible oxidation products.

Keywords: IR spectroscopy; PPE-PPV copolymers; doping; electrochemistry; spectroelectrochemistry.