Effects of chemical oxidants in the synthesis of polythieno[3,4-b]pyrazines

ORGN 411

Don D. Kenning and Seth C. Rasmussen. Department of Chemistry, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105
Low bandgap polymers such as polythieno[3,4-b]pyrazine are of interest for a variety ot technological applications. Although polythieno[3,4-b]pyrazines can be polymerized electrochemically, such syntheses are difficult for the preparation of large quantities. The use of chemical oxidants would allow the production of these materials in bulk quantities. However, traditional oxidative polymerization via FeCl3 has proven problematic due to metal binding by the polymer backbone. Additionally, polythieno[3,4-b]pyrazines are highly susceptible to overoxidation, which presents an additional difficulty when choosing chemical oxidants. Polymerization routes utilizing nitrosonium or persulfate salts for the synthesis of polythieno[3,4-b]pyrazines will be presented and compared to previous electrochemical and FeCl3 methods. Spectroscopic and electrochemical data of the polymers produced via the different methods will be compared and discussed.
 

Materials, Devices, and Switches
8:00 AM-12:00 PM, Wednesday, March 31, 2004 Anaheim Convention Center -- 303A, Oral

Division of Organic Chemistry

The 227th ACS National Meeting, Anaheim, CA, March 28-April 1, 2004