Syntheses,characterization of and studies on the electrochemical behaviour of ferrocenyl dithiophosphonates and 4-methoxyphenyl dithiophosphonates

Some 1,3-dithiadiphosphetane 2,4-disulfides (X₂P₂S₄, X: Fc, FcLR; X: CH₃O?C₆H₄?, LR) were allowed to react with alcohols to obtain dithiophosphonic acids (X(OR)PS₂H). These were converted to the corresponding ammonium salts. The salts were of the structures Fc(OR)PS₂]^?NH₄]⁺, R: 3-methyl-1-butyl- for I; 1-phenyl-1-propyl- for II; 3-pentyl- for III; 3-phenyl-1-propyl- for IV and CH₃O?C₆H₄(OR)PS₂]^?NH₄]⁺, R: 3-methyl-1-butyl- for V and 1-phenyl-1-propyl- for VI. To the best of our knowledge, all the compounds except V were prepared for the first time.

The compounds synthesized were characterized by elemental analysis, NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ³¹P), MS, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopies. Electrochemical behaviors of I–VI at disposable pencil graphite electrode (PGE) were investigated by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square-wave voltammetry (SWV). Adsorption and diffusion patterns of all the compounds on the PGE were also studied.

Two electroactive groups were identified in the compounds I–IV and only one in V and VI. The ferrocenyl groups of I-IV were oxidized at around 0.4 V. The same compounds display a second, more intense CV band at 0.8 V. The corresponding band for the compounds V–VI appears at around 0.6 V with a much weaker intensity. It is suggested that the ferrocenyl group introduced into the structures stabilizes the radical species formed as the product of the oxidation of the dithiophosphonato group.