Voltammetric properties at pH 14 of electrodes modified by azobenzene polymers

Azobenzene polymers were prepared by condensation of p-phenylazobenzoyl chloride and poly(ethylenimine). Their loadings in electroactive sites range from 5 to 95%. They were adsorbed on a glassy carbon electrode or on a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) whose area could be expanded after the adsorption. The voltammetric behavior of the polymeric films is described at pH 14. The azobenzene sites which are in the vicinity of the electrode surface are electroactive, but the electrochemical reaction does not propagate to the bulk of the coating. When the loading of the polymer is not too high, the expansion of the HMDE causes an increase in the number N of azobenzene double bonds which are reduced, N remaining proportional to the drop area A, because-the film is sufficiently flexible to cover the new surface which appears (soap bubble effect). For the highly loaded polymers (loading larger than about 50%), conversely, N remains nearly constant, owing to the rigidity of the film, which causes it to break up when the drop is expanded. The reversibility of the electrochemical reaction depends both on the loading and on the expansion, which could be due to changes in the orientation of the azobenzene molecules at the surface of the electrode.