Electrochemical polymerization of furan and 2-methylfuran

Conductive polyfuran and poly(2-methyl)furan are prepared by controlled potential electrolysis in acetonitrile at room temperature. It is found that conductivity of polyfuran decreased by factor of 4 when methyl group is present in the α position. Temperature effect on the rate of polymerization of furan is studied by cyclic voltammetry technique and an increase in the initial rate of polymerization was observed with increasing temperature. Apparent activation energy of electrochemical polymerization of furan was found to be 7.5 kJ/mole. The mechanism of electrochemical polymerization was investigated by in situ ESR.