Oxidative polymerization of pyrrole with a vanadium dinuclear complex as a two-electron redox catalyst

Abstract

Abstract The catalytic oxidation of pyrrole by the [(salen)V IV OV V (salen)] 3+ cation, which is formed on an electrode surface by the oxidation of [(salen)V IV OV IV (salen)] 2+ , was examined by hydrodynamic voltammetry at a rotating glassy carbon disk electrode. The electron transfer rate constant for the cross-reaction [(salen)VOV(salen)] 3+ /pyrrole was estimated to be 4 × 10 4 mol −1 cm 3 s −1 . O 2 -oxidation of the [(salen)VOV(salen)] + cation gives rise to the catalysis for the O 2 -oxidative polymerization of pyrrole. The polymerization was rate-determined by the reoxidation step of the catalyst by O 2 .