A spectroelectrochemical study on electrochemically synthesized poly(thienyl biphenyl) film

The electrochemically synthesized conducting copolymer consisting of 3-octylthiophene and biphenyl units has been characterized by in situ resonance Raman spectroscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, in situ FTIR attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The structure of the formed material is compared with the two homopolymers: poly(3-octylthiophene) or poly(paraphenylene). The results show that the thiophene segments are longer than the phenylene segments in the poly(thienyl biphenyl) film formed. During electrochemical doping the Raman spectra indicate changes in the polymer backbone that can be assigned to transformation of the neutral form into the charged form.