Electrochemical dediazoniation of arenediazonium ions and subsequent radical polymerization at the liquid-liquid interface

Arenediazonium ions are dediazoniated through reduction by decamethylferrocene in the 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) after the electrochemical transfer of the arenediazonium ions from the aqueous side of the interface between the DCE and the aqueous phase (W). Cyclic voltammetry of the ion transfer clearly shows that this process is described as an E _r C _i process, that is, the diffusion-limited transfer of the ions across the interface followed by the irreversible dediazoniation in the DCE phase. Arene radicals formed in DCE can initiate the radical polymerization of styrene at the interface. The polystyrene formed in the interfacial region significantly impedes the transfer of tetraethylammonium ions across the DCEIW interface. Published in Russian in Elektrokhimiya, 2008, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 80–84. The text was submitted by the authors in English.