2,5-Dimethyl-1,4-bis(carboxyalkyl)benzenes were prepared in almost quantitative yield by alkylation of malonic esters from 2,5-dimethyl-1,4-dibromomethylbenzene obtained by bromomethylation of 1,4-dimethylbenzene. The methyl groups on the central benzene ring induce intramolecular, regiospecific cycloeliminations leading selectively to the diketones, the precursors of the corresponding 1,5-dihydro-s-indacenes, which also were obtained in very high yield. These new ligand precursors were easily converted to the mono- or dianions, which were characterized by means of the mono- or disilylated compounds. Disilylation occurs in cis and trans position. The structure of the trans-1,5-bis(trimethylsilyl)-2,6-diethyl-4,8-dimethyl-s-indacene was obtained by X-ray diffraction. Hexaalkyl-1,5-dihydro-s-indacenes underwent regioselective monosilylation and regiospecific and stereoselective disilylation. Disilylation of the less hindered tetraalkyl-1,5-dihydro-s-indacenes was regioselective and stereoselective.

The contribution of electrochemical methods to the development of conducting polymers has been most relevant, although the electropolymerization mechanism has not yet been totally elucidated. The formation of a high‐density oligomeric region in the electrode–solution interface has been clearly established as formed by oligomers with different chain lengths. It has been confirmed that, depending on the variables governing the process (applied potential, electrolysis time, concentration, etc), it is possible to control to some extent the oligomer to be generated. In this present work, the electrosynthesis of oligomers of o‐phenylenediamine is proposed. A saturated solution of the monomer was electrolysed at 0.95 V versus SCE over 1 min, using stainless steel as the working electrode material. Under these conditions, a mixture of the dimer and tetramer, relatively easy to separate by thin layer chromatography, was deposited. The products were characterized by mass spectrometry, UV–vis spectroscopy, elemental analysis and 1H NMR spectroscopy. This approach allows the synthesis of oligomers in a fast and simple way. In addition, the product is directly obtained on the electrode surface, hence making its separation and purification very straightforward. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry

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SummaryModified electrodes with poly(2,2'-dithiodianiline),PDTDA, were prepared from the corresponding monomer by cyclic voltammetry between 0.0 V and 1.5-1.6 V on gold or stainless steel respectively. The potentiodynamic method proved to bring about good quality and adherent thin films. The wide potential window shown by this modified electrode allowed attempting the insertion of copper in the polymeric matrix using several strategies. The response of this modified electrode copper was checked in the presence of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Copper loaded on PDTDA/Au electrodes showed the highest sensitivity along with a stable and reproducible response for the detection of GABA. The surface morphology and composition analysis by SEM and XPS shows that copper is deposited in the polymeric matrix as uniformly scattered microparticles. The surface of these particles is mainly composed of Cu(I) species.

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