Electrochemical synthesis of polymer based on 4-(2-furyl) benzenamine: Electrochemical properties, characterization and applications

• 4-(2-Furyl) benzenamine was synthesized by a simple two-step method.
• Poly(4-(2-furyl) benzenamine) was electrosynthesized in aqueous and organic solutions.
• The polymer was characterized by electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques.
• Polymer prepared at the presence of Ce(III) nitrate shows excellent anticorrosion properties.

4-(2-Furyl) benzenamine (FBA), was successfully synthesized by a simple method including substitution of furan on p-nitroaniline followed by reduction of nitro group. Structure of the synthesized monomer was verified using IR, 1H NMR and GC–MS techniques. Corresponding poly(4-(2-furyl) benzenamine) (PFBA) was electrochemically synthesized in acidic aqueous and organic solutions by cyclic potential sweep method. Characterization of the resulting polymer was performed by cyclic voltammetry (CV), IR, UV–vis spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Effect of solvent on the electroactivity of the polymer modified electrode was investigated. The HOMO, LUMO levels and band gap energies of the doped and undoped form of the PFBA were calculated using UV–vis and CV data. The electrochromic properties and corrosion behavior of PFBA were studied. The electrochromic properties of the copolymer film, electrochemically coated on transparent conductive oxide, corroborate multi-color electrochromic behavior of the polymer whenever the applied potential was switched from reducing (yellow) to oxidizing status (green). The FBA polymer was found to exhibit enhanced corrosion protection effect on steel electrode in comparison with corresponding polyaniline (PANI) and polyfuran (PFu) homopolymers based on series of electrochemical measurements in 3.5 wt% NaCl electrolyte solutions.