title: Electrochemical synthesis of poly(3-aminophenylboronic acid) in ethylene glycol without exogenous protons.
abstract: A non-aqueous solution of tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride (TBAF) in ethylene glycol has been tried for the first time as a supporting electrolyte for the electropolymerization of 3-aminophenylboronic acid (APBA). Unlike the traditional acidic aqueous solution, the present medium needs no exogenous protons; moreover, the presence of CF3COOH is found to be unfavorable for the polymerization. The protons are in situ generated by the reaction between the boronic acid group on APBA and 1,2-dihydroxyl on ethylene glycol. So, ethylene glycol serves as not only the solvent but also the proton source. As a part of the supporting electrolyte, F(-) is found to be involved in the electrochemical synthesis of poly(3-aminophenylboronic acid) (PAPBA), but it is not indispensable. Studies on the electropolymerization process indicate that the size of the ions in the electrolyte affects the rate of the doping/dedoping process. The smaller the cation, the easier the doping/dedoping process, and the better the stability of the grown film. As demonstrated by Fourier transform infrared spectra, UV-vis spectra, and scanning electron microscopy, the obtained PAPBA is a cross-linked nanoporous polymer membrane that has a good adherence to the glassy carbon electrode.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry of the Education Ministry of China, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China. xrhuang@sdu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Feifan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Feixue
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Xinxin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Yaohua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Xirong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang