A novel fluorescent, conducting polymer: Poly[1-(thiophene-2-yl)benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene] electrosynthesis, characterization and optical properties

Poly[1-(thiophene-2-yl)benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene] (poly-TBTBT) was electrosynthesized on a Pt electrode by anodic oxidation of TBTBT in 0.1 M LiClO4 acetonitrile solution and in a micellar medium (water/methanol, 9/91, v/v) containing 0.39 M perchloric acid and 0.1 M sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). Films prepared in acetonitrile were thick and electroactive, whereas in micellar medium they were very thin. Poly-TBTBT was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, IR, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Poly-TBTBT films were essentially constituted of short-chain oligomers (dimer to octamer). The molecular orbital (MO) calculations, carried out on the basis of a radical–cation electropolymerization mechanism, confirmed the spectral results The optical properties, including the electronic absorption and fluorescence spectra, were also examined.