| Abstract: | The reduction of an electroactive polymer at an electrode involves the transfer of a large number of electrons to a single molecule. A quantitative study of this process indicates whether the system behaves ideally. The electron transfer process in polyvinylbenzophenone and in polyvinylbenzophenone-co-styrene in N,N-dimethylformamide solution was investigated by voltammetry at a rotating disk electrode. It is concluded that benzophenone (BP) groups attached to the polymer backbone are noninteracting electroactive centers and that every BP group is reducible at the electrode. The relationship between limiting current and molecular weight was examined quantitatively for a series of polymers of low dispersity with molecular weights ranging up to 300,000, and with a controlled, varied content of electroactive groups. The diffusion coefficient was determined as a function of molecular weight from the electrochemical data, and was found to be in good agreement with the theoretical model based on transport properties. The dependence of the diffusion coefficient on concentration of polymer and on temperature were investigated and activation energies determined. |
