Spectroelectrochemistry of Intrinsically Conducting Selenophene-3-Chlorothiophene Copolymers

The electrochemical copolymerization between selenophene and 3-chlorothiophene monomers was successfully realized. The influence of the applied polymerization potential and the monomer feed ratio on the copolymer properties were investigated, and the results revealed that the obtained polymer films strongly depended on the polymerization conditions. The obtained copolymers showed good redox stability in acetonitrile-based electrolyte solution. Band gap energy of the homo- and copolymer films was estimated and the values were between 1.95-2.11 eV. The electrical conductivity measurements of selenophene-3-chlorothiophene copolymers were successfully achieved using a four-probe technique and generally increased with increasing temperature. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) characterization disclosed that the bands of homopolymers were retained in the spectra of copolymers with typical assignments suggesting that α-positions in the polymer chains were involved in the polymerization.