Biocatalytically Synthesized Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)

Abstract

Over the past decade, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) has been one of the widely investigated conjugated polymers due to its excellent electro-optical properties. The conventional synthesis of PEDOT/PSS involves oxidation of EDOT using strong oxidants in aqueous polystyrenesulfonate (SPS) solution. The low pH conditions and strong oxidants render this synthetic protocol unsuitable for use of PEDOT in applications such as biosensing. For the purpose of expanding the utility of PEDOT in these applications, it is important to develop a route that can provide the possibility of synthesizing PEDOT in the presence of the appropriate biological entities. Here we report the use of terthiophene as a radical mediator to synthesize PEDOT/PSS under milder pH conditions using soybean peroxidase (SBP). The oxidation potential of terthiophene is sufficiently low for initiation of the polymerization reaction catalyzed by SBP. The oxidized terthiophene helps the subsequent oxidation of EDOT, thus mediating the polymerization reaction. This novel approach involving the use of conjugated oligomers as redox mediators is generic and vastly expands the types of substrates (thiophenes, pyrroles) that can be polymerized using enzymatic methods and benign conditions.

Hybrid metal grid-polymer-carbon nanotube electrodes for high luminance organic light emitting diodes

“…These peaks disappear after annealing (d), indicating that the annealed PH1000-S is completely devoid of sorbitol molecules. The features observed from 700 to 1,700 cm −1 in (b) and (d) are similar to those reported for PH1000 [29,30].…”

Enzyme Initiated Radical Polymerizations

“…Second, the mediator radical itself can initiate chain growth thereby being incorporated into the polymer (see Section 2.4). This mechanism is the predominant pathway for the polymerization of vinyl monomers with β-diketones representing the mediators of choice (vide infra) but may also be applicable for the polymerization of non-phenolic aromatics such as thiophenes [38]. Figure 6.…”

Core‐Shell Structured Monodisperse Poly(3,4‐Ethylenedioxythiophene)/Poly(Styrenesulfonic Acid) Coated Polystyrene Microspheres and Their Electrorheological Response

“…However, this problem was solved by the introduction of poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PSS) as a dopant in the aqueous polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT). The yielding PEDOT/PSS not only keeps the conductivity of PEDOT, but also forms stable and processable dispersion in water, [25,26] which extends its application greatly. In this study, this excellent conducting polymer in its doping state as PEDOT/PSS, was adopted as a new material for ER particles.…”