Chemical intercalation of tetraalkylammonium ions into polyacetylene

A novel class of carbanionic dopant systems was developed which facilitates the intercalation of tetraalkylammonium ions into polyacetylene (PA), which was considered impossible by chemical methods so far. The chemistry of the dopant system was discussed. The presence of [R4N]+ ions in PA was verified by elemental analysis and IR spectroscopy. The maximum doping levels were determined in the case of several carbanionic systems and also by systematically varying the size of the [R4N]+ ions. A correlation between maximum doping levels and the redox‐potentials of the carbanions was established.