Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026

Using Cyclic Voltammetry, UV-Vis-NIR, and EPR Spectroelectrochemistry to Analyze Organic Compounds
Published on: October 18, 2018
Poly(3-decylthiophene) radical anions and cations in solution: single and multiple polarons and their delocalization
Norihiko Takeda1, John R Miller
1Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973-5000, USA.
Abstract:
Optical absorption spectra of anions and cations of poly(3-decylthiophene) (P3DT) in solution were identified as single polarons. Pulse radiolysis of P3DT in THF determined the spatial extent of one negative polaron to be ~11.5 thiophene units by observing transient absorption of P3DT(-•) radical ions, which are prinicpally free ions, at 850 nm with ε = (7.25 ± 0.47) × 10(4) M(-1) cm(-1) and bleaching of the neutral absorption band at 450 nm. P3DT(-•) was formed in a combination of diffusive reactions and fast "step" processes. Similarly, a positive polaron of P3DT was estimated to delocalize over ~8.7 thiophene units by pulse radiolysis in chloroform. Chemical reduction by sodium and oxidation by FeCl(3) injected multiple charges into a single P3DT chain while showing absorption spectra in the early stages of reaction resembling those observed by pulse radiolysis. The results indicated that multiple polarons exist in a single chain of P3DT before coalescing into bipolarons or transforming into other forms of polaron.
More Related Videos
06:55Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
06:16Monitoring the Effects of Illumination on the Structure of Conjugated Polymer Gels Using Neutron Scattering
Published on: December 21, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism
Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Chain Branching
Aromatic Hydrocarbon Anions: Structural Overview
Due to the absence of continuous overlap of p...
π Molecular Orbitals of the Allyl Cation and Anion
Aromatic Hydrocarbon Cations: Structural Overview
Removing one hydrogen from the intervening CH2 group with both...
Free-Radical Chain Reaction and Polymerization of Alkenes