Theoretical study on the electronic, structural, properties and reactivity of a series of mono-, di-, tri- and tetrafluorothiophenes as monomers for new conducting polymers

Electrical and structural properties of mono-, di-, tri- and tetrafluorothiophenes and their radical cations have been studied using density functional theory and B3LYP method with 6-311++G** basis set. The effects of the number and position of the substituent of fluorine atoms on the properties of the thiophene ring have been studied using optimized structures obtained for these molecules and their radical cations. Vibrational frequencies, spin-density distribution, size and direction of dipole moment vector, ionization potential, electric polarizability, HOMO–LUMO gaps and NICS values of these compounds have been calculated as well. The analysis of these data showed that double bonds in 3-fluorothiophene are more delocalized and it is the best possible candidate monomer among all fluorothiophenes for the synthesis of corresponding conducting polymers with modified characteristics.