Controllable Cyclopalladated Polythiophene Imine Monolayer by Self-Assembly, Hybrid Doping and Electrochemical Polymerization: A Simple Way to Enhance Activity and Stability

Abstract

In this article, an approach to generate self-assembly cyclopalladated polythiophene imine monolayers (denoted as ITO@Pd-CPTIMs) is described. The monolayers were fabricated by combining self-assembly (SA), hybrid doping (HD), and electrochemical polymerization (ECP) called SA-HD-ECP. The catalytic activity and stability of the polymerized monolayers in the Suzuki coupling reaction were improved by modulating the structure and morphology in hybrid doping using different thiophene derivatives, concentrations, and scanning numbers during electrochemical polymerization. Morphological changes in the catalytic surface associated with catalytic activity were investigated. ITO@Pd-PTF could improve catalytic activity with a higher TON value (45000 mol/molcat) and attain recycling ability at least 10 times.