Electrosynthesis of valuable conducting polymers from the anodic coupling of β-substituted oligothiophenes

Electrochemical polymerization of thiophene oligomers (n = 4) bearing an hexamethylenic ω-methoxy functionalized side chain at the 3-3″′ position of the thiophene rings, was performed in different solvents and electrode surfaces. The degree of polymerization and the electrochemical behaviour of the different electrosynthetized polymers were compared with a polymer obtained by a chemical method. The polymeric films were characterized using cyclic voltammetry, FT-IR, AFM and SEM microscopy.