The electrochemical oxidation of pyrrole-terminated, self-assembled alkanethiol monolayers on Au
surfaces in dry electrolyte media (<0.005% H2O) results in tethered poly(N-alkylpyrroles) of varying monomer
repeat lengths. After pristine (monomeric) monolayers of 10-(N-pyrrolyl)decane-1-thiol (1), 7-(N-pyrrolyl)heptane-1-thiol (2), and 6-(N-pyrrolyl)hexane-1-thiol (3) on Au have been oxidized in nonaqueous electrolyte
media, electrochemistry characteristic of poly(N-alkylpyrroles) is observed. Reflection−absorption infrared
spectra of the oxidized monolayers exhibit aromatic C−H out-of-plane deformation bands between 700 and
800 cm-1 that can be used to determine the effective conjugation length of the poly(N-alkylpyrroles) produced.
The number of monomer repeat units in the backbone ranges from 2 to ∼20 and depends on the oxidation
potential applied to the monomeric monolayers. In comparison to the monomeric monolayers, the
electrochemically polymerized monolayers are demonstrated to be more stable with respect to exchange by a
redox-labeled alkanethiol.
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