Electropolymerization of 4-nitro-1,2-phenylenediamine and electrochemical studies of poly(4-nitro-1,2-phenylenediamine) films

In this work, we report the anodic electropolymerization of 4-nitro-1,2-phenylenediamine (4NoPD) in different supporting electrolytes at different pH. The feasibilities of forming the polymer poly(4-nitro-1,2-phenylenediamine) (P4NoPD) on gold and glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) were shown. The P4NoPD films were generated by continuous potential cycling between −0.15 V and +1.10 V (versus Ag|AgCl, saturated KCl). The pH of the electropolymerization medium, the nature of the background electrolyte and the number of cycles used were found to influence strongly the amount of polymer deposited. The reduction of nitro-groups of the P4NoPD films was also found to be dependent on solution conditions, especially pH.