Hybrid organic/inorganic films of conducting polymers modified with phthalocyanines. I—Film preparation and voltammetric studies

Abstract

Conducting polymers were deposited on the surface of platinum and glassy carbon electrodes. The monomers used were N-methyl pyrrole and 3-methyl thiophene. The electrochemical synthesis of the polymer was achieved using constant applied potential or cyclic polarization techniques in acetonitrile as a solvent and tetra-alkyl ammonium salts as supporting electrolyte. The resulting conducting polymeric film was modified with an inorganic metal complex, namely, Cu–phthalocyanine or Co–phthalocyanine. Two different approaches were adopted for the modification: (1) the first was to directly apply the metal–phthalocyanine layer on the surface of the polymer, and (2) the second was by the inclusion of the metal–phthalocyanine in a sol–gel matrix that was in turn applied to the conducting polymer film. In the first part of this work, we studied the effect of changing the type of polymer matrix and the central metal of the inorganic complex on the electrochemical behavior of the resulting film. We also found that changing the method of metal–phthalocyanine application to the polymer film affected the electrochemical response and kinetics at the electrode surface. The new electrode was tested for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide and showed better conversion efficiency compared to conventional surfaces, which suggests its use in fuel cell applications.