A novel polyphenol: synthesis, characterization and investigation of its thermal and electrochemical properties

The chemical synthesis of a new type of polyphenol was achieved by oxidative polycondensation of 4-((2-phenylhydrazono)methyl)phenol (4-PHMP). The polymerization of 4-PHMP was performed using sodium hypochlorite and air (O 2 ) as oxidizing agents in an aqueous alkaline medium under various polymerization conditions. The molecular weight of the polymer was determined by gel permeation chromatography, and the polymeric structure was characterized by elemental analysis, ultraviolet–visible, Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. In addition, thermal and electrochemical properties of the synthesized compounds were investigated. According to electrochemical measurements, the polymer had a low band gap ( E g ′=1.52 eV) and appeared to be an interesting candidate for solar-cell applications. Chemical synthesis of a new type polyphenol was achieved by oxidative polycondensation of 4-((2-phenylhydrazono)methyl)phenol (4-PHMP). According to spectral analysis, the obtained polymer from 4-PHMP is composed of a mixture of phenylene and oxyphenylene units. 4-PHMP and poly(4-PHMP) are soluble in highly polar solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethylformamide. Thermal analysis shows that poly(4-PHMP) has relatively high thermal stability. Also, the polymer has a low band gap ( E g ′=1.52 eV) and appears to be interesting candidates for solar-cell applications.