Preparation of poly(1,4-phenylene)s by electro-oxidative polymerization

The effect of substituents on the electropolymerization of benzene derivatives and the redox properrties of the corresponding polymers were determined using Brown's substituent constants (σ+). Electron-donating groups lower the oxidation potential by which increase in the current efficiency was observed. However, stabilization of the produced cation radicals by the electron-donating groups resulted in a decrease in the polymerization efficiency. The appropriate values of σ+ for the efficient polymerization ranged near −1.5.