Spectroscopic and electrochemical study of the redox process of poly(2,2'-dithiodianiline)

Abstract

The redox process undergone by the electrochemically synthesized poly(2,2-dithiodianiline), poly(DTDA), has been examined in acetonitrile-water mixtures by electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques. The spectroscopic properties of this material are equivalent to those exhibited by the chemically synthesized one. The polymeric structure displays a ladder structure, with S-S bonds serving as interconnections between two adjacent polyaniline chains. The kinetic reversibility of the RS–SR <=> 2RS− reaction is very poor for the DTDA monomer species, and this irreversibility is retained in the polymeric material. According to the results presented, the hypothesis that poly(DTDA) could display a high energy density due to the simultaneity of the leucoemeraldine <=> emeraldine and dithiolate <=> disulfide electrochemical transformations does not seem justified.