Synthesis, co-polymerization, and electrochemical evaluation of novel ferrocene-pyrrole derivatives

New ferrocene derivatives, (6-(4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)phenoxy)hexyl) ferrocene (1) and ((4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)phenoxy)carbonyl) ferrocene (2) were synthesized, characterized, and electrochemically evaluated as redox active films formed via anodic oxidation with pyrrole. Thin film studies were conducted and films formed from both compounds resulted in a stable Fe ^II/III redox couple with E ^o = 0.035 V and 0.365 V vs. Ag/Ag ⁺ for (1) and (2), respectively. Both potential sweeping and chronocolometry were employed for film formation with the former resulting in controllable, reproducible film deposition. Growth conditions and solution concentrations were varied in order to assess influence on electrochemical behavior. Surface coverage was of the order 10 ^-8 -10 ^-9 molcm ^-2, surface confined behavior (i _p vs. v) was evident up to 0.2 Vs ^-1 with semi-infinite diffusion (i _p vs. v ^1/2) dominating at higher scan rates. Laviron theory was employed where possible for the determination of electron transfer co-efficient and rate constants.