THE ANODIC-OXIDATION OF POLY(N-VINYLCARBAZOLE) FILMS

Journal article

The electrochemical oxidation of thin coats of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) on platinum electrodes has been studied. The oxidation is shown to involve initially the cross-linking of the polymer chains through the oxidation of up to 50% of the carbazole moieties in the coat and the dimerization of the resulting pendant carbazole cation radicals. The resulting dimeric carbazole unit is more easily oxidized than the monomer and undergoes a further (reversible) two-electron oxidation. Theory is presented describing the shape of the current-voltage curves obtained, and this together with current transients obtained from potential-step experiments is used to confirm the mechanism and obtain a rate constant of 6×10-3M-1s-1 for the dimerization of the carbazole cation radicals within the coat. © 1986 Chapman and Hall Ltd.

Authors: Compton, R; Davis, F; Grant, S

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers
• Journal: JOURNAL OF APPLIED ELECTROCHEMISTRY
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 239-249
• Publication date: 1986-03-01
• DOI: 10.1007/BF01093356
• EISSN: 1572-8838
• ISSN: 0021-891X
• Language: English