A NOVEL SUBSTITUTED POLY(ISOTHIANAPHTHENE)

Poly(5,6-dioxymethyleneisothianaphthene) (PDOMITN) was first synthesized as a poly(isothianaphthene) (PITN) derivative to improve the oxidation stability of PITN, which can be obtained by different polymerization routes in both electrochemical and chemical preparations from the monomers 5,6-dioxymethyleneisothianaphthene and 1,3-dihydro5,6-dioxymethyleneisothianaphthene, respectively. We present the synthesis and the preliminary characterization of a new polymer. Cyclic voltammetry, in situ opto-electrochemistry, infrared absorption spectroscopy and thermal analysis were performed. An energy gap value (E(g) approximately 1 eV) of a thin film of PDOMITN obtained by electrochemical polymerization was observed in an opto-electrochemical study. PDOMITN is one of the smallest energy gap conducting polymers with an E(g) comparable to that of PITN (E(g) approximately 1.1 eV) and smaller than that of poly(naphtho[2,3-c]thiophene) (E(g) approximately 1.5 eV).