Synthesis, characterization and electro-conducting study of isomeric polythiophene

Abstract

Herein we have reported for the first time a one-pot, one step methodology to synthesize isomeric polythiophene (IPTh) possessing 2,2, 2,4 and 5,4 linkages. The method of polymerization of thiophene to IPTh involved reacting thiophene with DDQ in the presence of concentrated H₂SO₄ at 40 °C and the polymerization is completed in 10 minutes. The synthesized IPTh was characterized by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The formation of polaron and bipolaron in an iodine doped sample (IPTh-I₂) has been confirmed by IR, Raman and UV-Vis spectra. The electrical conductivity of the synthesized IPTh and IPTh-I₂ have been studied by impedance spectroscopy and found to be ∼10⁻⁵ and 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ respectively. IPTh exhibits an excellent thermal stability up to 150 °C, and low optical band gap of 3.49 eV suitable for photovoltaic applications. The weight average molecular weight of IPTh has been found to be 18.636 kDa, and it has a better post functionalization capability and hence wider scope than polythiophene (PTh).