Electrochemical and Optical Studies of Furan and Thieno[3,2-b]thiophene End Capped Benzotriazole Derivatives

Two new 2-dodecyl benzotriazole (BTz) based donor-acceptor-donor (DAD) type polymers were synthesized and characterized in terms of their electrochemical and spectral properties. These DAD type polymers were synthesized electrochemically from furan or thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (TT) endcapped BTz monomers. Furan based and thieno[3,2-b]thiophene based monomers showed monomer oxidations at 1.15 and 1.25 V, respectively, which eased the formation of conducting polymer films without overoxidation. Cyclic voltammetry and spectroelectrochemistry studies showed that both materials are multicolored electrochromic polymers. Results and comparison with properties of other BTz based DAD type polymers are highlighted in detail. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 5603-5610, 2010