Explaining the Cyclic Voltammetry of a Poly(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene-vinylene) Copolymer upon Oxidation by using Spectroscopic Techniques.

Poly(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(1,4-phenylene-vinylene) (PPE-PPV) copolymers have attracted quite some attention in the last years in electronic device applications due to their enhanced fluorescence. In this work we focus on one particular PPE-PPV copolymer with dissymmetric substituted 1,4-phenylene-ethynylene and symmetric substituted 1,4-phenylene-vinylene building units. Six successive performed cyclic voltammograms are presented during oxidation reactions. Since the oxidation onset of electrochemical reactions shifts to lower potentials in each cycle, this behavior is elucidated using spectroscopic techniques ranging from UV-VIS-near-IR up to mid-IR including spin-resonance techniques. Hence, these findings help to explain some of their most advantageous properties in terms of possible oxidation products.