Oxidative copolymerization of pyrrole and 2-(N-pyrrolyl)-ethyl stearate with iron chloride in nitromethane

Pyrrole 2 (Py) was copolymerized with 2-(N-pyrrolyl)ethyl stearate 4 (PES) and the reactivity ratios were determined as rPy = 5.74 ± 0.27 and rPES = 0.54 ± 0.05. Copolymers 5 with less than 60 mol.% Py 2 were insulating, while Py-rich copolymers 5 reached conductivities from 10−8 to 0.3 S/cm. From the reactivity ratios an average sequence length of 12 Py units in the copolymers 5 was calculated for reaching conductivity saturation. FT-IR spectra of the copolymers 5 and the homopolymers are compared.