Redox Study of Polyaniline Derivatives for Potential Uses in Photovoltaic Devices

Polyaniline (PANI) derivatives were synthesized using chemical methods by varying the oxidant concentration to favor the quinoids units formation. FT-IR, UV-Vis, and cyclic voltammetry characterization conclusively demonstrated that polymer oxidation becomes more difficult as the size of the substituent increases. At the same time, lager substituent size tends to shift the onset oxidation potential (Eox) on toward positive. Polyaniline derivate polymers were used in photovoltaic devices as electronic donors to study the optium redox state so as to understand how the presence of quinoid units affects the photovoltaic yield. In previous work we have shown that thiophene or furane aniline based polymers can increase photovoltaic yield of anilines. Quinoid units play an essential role in the behavior of this parameter.