Alternating electro-copolymerization of zinc-β-octaethylporphyrin with a flexible bipyridinium

Abstract A porphyrin copolymer has been obtained upon submitting a mixture of zinc-β-octaethylporphyrin (OEP) and 1,1″-(1,3-propanediyl)bis-4,4′-bipyridinium to an electropolymerization procedure. The polymerization process is based on a nucleophilic attack of the pyridyl nitrogen atoms at the meso positions of the electrogenerated dication porphyrins. The resulting film has been characterized by UV–visible absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The redox properties of the film have been thoroughly investigated by electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical techniques. The collected experimental data support the existence of interactions between the porphyrin and viologen fragments within the films.