Oxidative polymerization of some N-alkylpyrroles with ferric chloride

Polymers of N-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyrrole (HEP, 1), 2-(N-pyrrolyl)ethyl acetate (PEA, 2) and 2-(N-pyrrolyl)ethyl stearate (3) were synthesized via oxidative polymerization with ferric chloride. Poly(2-(N-pyrrolyl)ethyl acetate) (PPEA, 5) and 2-(N-pyrrolyl)ethyl stearate) (PPES, 6) were partially soluble in organic solvents and transparent films were cast from solution. Selective thermal decomposition of the alkyl chains yielded almost pure polypyrrole moiety. The polymers 4–6 had conductivities of about 10−7−10−5 S/cm upon doping with iodine. The polymers were further characterized using 1H NMR, IR, UV-Vis, differential scanning calorimetry and gel permeation chromatography.