Abstract
An environmentally friendly water-soluble conjugated polythiophene poly[2-(3-thienyl)-ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate] (PTEBS) has been found to be effective for making hybrid solar cells. In this work, we first report the enzyme-catalyzed polymerization of (3-thienyl)-ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate (TEBS) using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme as a catalyst and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an oxidant in an aqueous buffer. This enzyme-catalyzed polymerization is a “green synthesis process” for the synthesis of water-soluble conjugated PTEBS, the benefits of which include a simple setting, high yields, and an environmentally friendly route. Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and UV–Vis absorption spectra confirm the successful enzyme-catalyzed polymerization of TEBS. The thermo gravimetric (TG) data show the obtained PTEBS is stable over a fairly high range of temperatures. The present PTEBS has a good solubility in water and ethanol, and photoluminescence quenching of PTEBS/titanium dioxide (TiO2) composite implies that the excitons dissociate and separate successfully at the interface of PTEBS and TiO2, which help to build solar cells using green processing methods.
Highlights
Conjugated polythiophenes have received significant attention recently due to their nonlinear optical properties, electro-conductivity, and other valuable properties. They can be employed in electrical components such as organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and organic solar cells (OSCs) [1,2,3,4,5]
The monomer (3-thienyl)-ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate (TEBS) was synthesized by the method proposed in the literature [14]
The polymerization of TEBS was catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP) with a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) oxidant, The polymerization
Summary
Conjugated polythiophenes have received significant attention recently due to their nonlinear optical properties, electro-conductivity, and other valuable properties. The enzymes offer several advantages such as high selectivity, mild operating conditions, catalyst recyclability, and biocompatibility, which render them environmentally friendly alternatives over conventional chemical catalysts. These characteristics are indicative of the “green synthesis process” nature of the enzymatic catalysis for developing new polymeric materials. We first report the enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of water-soluble conjugated polythiophene PTEBS using HRP as a catalyst and H2 O2 as an oxidant. This enzyme-catalyzed polymerization is a “green synthesis process” for the synthesis of water-soluble conjugated PTEBS, the benefits of which include a simple setting, high yields, and an environmentally friendly route
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