Synthesis and characterization of poly(S-2-mercaptoethyl 2-(thiophen-3-yl)ethanethioate) by electrochemical polymerization

Abstract

A novel monomer of S-2-mercaptoethyl 2-(thiophen-3-yl)ethanethioate (MTE) were synthesized via esterification reaction between 2-(thiophen-3-yl)acetic and ethane-1,2-dithiol in the presence of dicyclohexyl-carbodiimide (DCC) and N,N’-dimethylpyridin-4-amine (4-DMAP) as catalytic system. The structure of monomer was characterized via MS, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopies. The electrochemical polymerization of MTE monomer was performed in acetonitrile using lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄) as electrolyte agent. The obtained polymer film (PMTE) was characterized via cyclic voltammetry and it exhibited the main oxidation peaks centered at +2V.

Keywords:
polythiophene; electrochemical polymerization; cyclic voltammograms