Issue 47, 2020

Extraordinary electrochemical stability and extended polaron delocalization of ladder-type polyaniline-analogous polymers

Abstract

Electrochemical stability and delocalization of states critically impact the functions and practical applications of electronically active polymers. Incorporation of a ladder-type constitution into these polymers represents a promising strategy to enhance the aforementioned properties from a fundamental structural perspective. A series of ladder-type polyaniline-analogous polymers are designed as models to test this hypothesis and are synthesized through a facile and scalable route. Chemical and electrochemical interconversions between the fully oxidized pernigraniline state and the fully reduced leucoemeraldine state are both achieved in a highly reversible and robust manner. The protonated pernigraniline form of the ladder polymer exhibits unprecedented electrochemical stability under highly acidic and oxidative conditions, enabling the access of a near-infrared light-absorbing material with extended polaron delocalization in the solid-state. An electrochromic device composed of this ladder polymer shows distinct switching between UV- and near-infrared-absorbing states with a remarkable cyclability, meanwhile tolerating a wide operating window of 4 volts. Taken together, these results demonstrate the principle of employing a ladder-type backbone constitution to impart superior electrochemical properties into electronically active polymers.

Graphical abstract: Extraordinary electrochemical stability and extended polaron delocalization of ladder-type polyaniline-analogous polymers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
16 Jūn. 2020
Accepted
05 Aug. 2020
First published
06 Aug. 2020
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2020,11, 12737-12745

Extraordinary electrochemical stability and extended polaron delocalization of ladder-type polyaniline-analogous polymers

X. Ji, M. Leng, H. Xie, C. Wang, K. R. Dunbar, Y. Zou and L. Fang, Chem. Sci., 2020, 11, 12737 DOI: 10.1039/D0SC03348K

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