Characterization of poly(3-hexanoyloxyethyl-2,5-thienylene) synthesized under different conditions: a comparative study

Abstract

Poly(3-hexanoyloxyethyl-2,5-thienylene) has been chemically synthesized with FeCl₃ in both nitromethane and chloroform using different conditions. A complete homopolymeric structure is obtained in chloroform as confirmed mainly by ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The homopolymer shows a higher molar mass by gelpermeation chromatography and a higher thermal stability under nitrogen by thermogravimetry. The microstructure of the polymeric chains has been investigated by NMR and a low regioregularity, independent from the polymerization conditions, is found. The electronic spectra suggest low conjugation lengths. The conductivities of the oxidized polymers, ca. 10^–3 S cm^–1, are reported.