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Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Using Cyclic Voltammetry, UV-Vis-NIR, and EPR Spectroelectrochemistry to Analyze Organic Compounds
Published on: October 18, 2018
Explaining the Cyclic Voltammetry of a Poly(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene-vinylene) Copolymer upon
Christina Enengl1,2, Sandra Enengl1,2, Nassima Bouguerra2,3
1Institute of Polymer Science, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040, Linz, Austria.
Abstract:
Poly(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene-vinylene) (PPE-PPV) copolymers have attracted quite a lot of attention in the last few years for electronic device applications owing to their enhanced fluorescence. In this work, we focus on one particular PPE-PPV copolymer with dissymmetrically substituted 1,4-phenylene-ethynylene and symmetrically substituted 1,4-phenylene-vinylene building units. Six successively performed cyclic voltammograms are presented, measured during the oxidation reactions. As the oxidation onset of the electrochemical reaction shifts to lower potentials in each cycle, this behavior is elucidated by using spectroscopic techniques ranging from UV/Vis/near-IR to mid-IR including spin-resonance techniques. Hence, these findings help to explain some of the copolymer's most advantageous properties in terms of possible oxidation products.
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