A novel polyphenol: Synthesis, characterization and investigation of its thermal and electrochemical properties

Abstract

The chemical synthesis of a new type of polyphenol was achieved by oxidative polycondensation of 4-((2-phenylhydrazono)methyl)phenol (4-PHMP). The polymerization of 4-PHMP was performed using sodium hypochlorite and air (O 2) as oxidizing agents in an aqueous alkaline medium under various polymerization conditions. The molecular weight of the polymer was determined by gel permeation chromatography, and the polymeric structure was characterized by elemental analysis, ultraviolet-visible, Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. In addition, thermal and electrochemical properties of the synthesized compounds were investigated. According to electrochemical measurements, the polymer had a low band gap (E g ′1.52 eV) and appeared to be an interesting candidate for solar-cell applications. © 2012 The Society of Polymer Science, Japan (SPSJ). © 2012 The Society of Polymer Science, Japan (SPSJ).