Electrochemical polymerization of anthracene in boron trifluoride diethyl etherate

Anthracene has been electrochemically polymerized in the electrolyte of boron trifluoride diethyl etherate. The oxidation potential of anthracene monomer in this medium was measured as 0.7 V approximately (versus Ag|AgCl). Polyanthracene (PAn) with 4–17 repeating anthracene units was obtained and its conductivity was measured as around 0.1 S/cm. This value is about 100 times that of the PAn reported previously. The structure of the polymer has been investigated by UV/Vis, infrared and Raman spectroscopies. The resulting product was partly soluble in usual organic solvents such as tetrahydrofuran and chloroform. The soluble part of the polymer is a strong blue light emitter.