Conducting polymers as anion-responsive chemical fuses

Abstract

We report the first example of anion-selective disassembly of conducting polymers. With polymer-modified electrodes, such an externally triggered macroscopic transition leads to ON–OFF binary signaling of a chemical fuse as a preventive measure against specific chemicals in solution. This unprecedented mode of operation is driven by N–H⋯X⁻ hydrogen bonding of biimidazole units fused orthogonally onto the polythiophene backbone, and conveniently monitored by a simple electrical setup without the need for a sophisticated optical device.