Sensor application of quinoxaline based conducting polymers

Abstract

Creative new design and development strategies led to interesting new materials and enhanced performance in certain devices. The ability of molecular designers in understanding how to gain control over the structure in polythiophenes makes the synthesis of polythiophenes a critical subject in the development of new advanced materials. The study of redox-active receptor molecules, in which a change in the electrochemical behaviour of a signaling redox unit is used to monitor the complexation of neutral or ionic guest species, is an increasingly important area of supramolecular chemistry. This type of molecular and ion recognition sensor is based on a host-guest arrangement involving the receptor molecule and the analyte. The application of this mechanism to thin solid films is particularly relevant for the construction of sensor devices. In this context, the use of conjugated polymers is an important area of research and considerable efforts have been directed towards the use of versatile polythiophene derivatives. In this work, we report the synthesis and characterization of:5,12-dihydrothieno [3’,4’:2,3][1,4]dioxocino[6,7-b]quinoxaline (Q1) and the interaction and electrochemical recognition of silver and mercury cations with electropolymerised P(Q1) films (Fig.1).