Electrochemistry of some novel hole transport materials

Several charge transfer agents have been investigated using cyclic voltammetry. We report multistep mechanisms involving both chemical and electrochemical steps, for the three compounds in the study. The overall mechanism consists of two quasi-reversible electron transfer events, each followed by a chemical step, an ECEC mechanism. The first cyclic voltammetric wave for each compound was studied separately. After the second quasi-reversible electron transfer, a third oxidation wave is observed under conditions of high concentration and slower scan rates. This is attributed to direct oxidation of the product of the second chemical step, which is identified as oligomer formation. This hypothesis is consistent with the physically observed formation of a film on the surface of the electrode, presumably from electrooxidative oligomerization of the compound. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.