Intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) have been widely utilized in organic electronics, actuators, electrochromic devices, and sensors. Many potential applications demand the formation of thin polymer films, which can be generated by electrochemical polymerization. Electrochemical methods are quite powerful and versatile and can be utilized for investigation of ICPs, both for educational purposes and materials chemistry research. In this study, we show that potentiodynamic and potentiostatic techniques can be utilized for generating and characterizing thin polymer films under the context of educational chemistry research and state-of-the-art polymer research. First, two well-known bifunctional monomers (with only two linking sites)—aniline and bithiophene—and their respective ICPs—polyaniline (PANI) and polybithiophene (PBTh)—were electrochemically generated and characterized. Tests with simple electrochromic devices based on PANI and PBTh were carried out at different doping levels, where changes in the UV-VIS absorption spectra and color were ascribed to changes in the polymer structures. These experiments may attract students’ interest in the electrochemical polymerization of ICPs as doping/dedoping processes can be easily understood from observable color changes to the naked eye, as shown for the two polymers. Second, two new carbazole-based multifunctional monomers (with three or more linking sites)—tris(4-(carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)silanol (TPTCzSiOH) and tris(3,5-di(carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)silanol (TPHxCzSiOH)—were synthesized to produce thin films of cross-linked polymer networks by electropolymerization. These thin polymer films were characterized by electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) experiments and nitrogen sorption, and the results showed a microporous nature with high specific surface areas up to 930 m2g−1. PTPHxCzSiOH-modified glassy carbon electrodes showed an enhanced electrochemical response to nitrobenzene as prototypical nitroaromatic compound compared to unmodified glassy carbon electrodes.

Es wird der Bau eines kostengünstigen Potentiostats und einer elektrochemischen Zelle beschrieben, die für potentiostatische Abscheidungen von leitenden Polymeren auf FTO‐beschichtete Gläser eingesetzt wurden. Ein literaturbekanntes elektrochromes Fenster wurde hergestellt und mit dem Potentiostat getestet. Darüber hinaus wurde ein neues Fenster mit einer zusätzlichen elektrochemisch abgeschiedenen Polymerschicht konzipiert und erstmalig hergestellt, dessen Elektrochromie ausgeprägter ist als beim Literaturbeispiel. Die dafür notwendigen Chemikalien sind ebenso wie das gesamte Equipment preisgünstig.

Electrically conducting and semiconducting polymers represent a special and still very attractive class of functional chromophores, especially due to their unique optical and electronic properties and their broad device application potential. They are potentially suitable as materials for several applications of high future relevance, for example flexible photovoltaic modules, components of displays/screens and batteries, electrochromic windows, or photocatalysts. Therefore, their synthesis and structure elucidation are still intensely investigated. This article will demonstrate the very fruitful interplay of current electropolymerization research and its exploitation for science education issues. Experiments involving the synthesis of conducting polymers and their assembly into functional devices can be used to teach basic chemical and physical principles as well as to motivate students for an innovative and interdisciplinary field of chemistry.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has displayed new challenges for chemistry instructors and students worldwide. An essential part of learning chemistry involves interactions in a laboratory ambiance. However, nowadays, it is necessary to consider alternatives to teaching experimental chemistry in an online environment. As a course project proposal, the students produced homemade videos to investigate a specific topic and find alternative ways to transfer their knowledge through innovative pedagogical and communicational tools. This work was assigned to first-year undergraduate students in a Chemistry I course who could not access an on-campus laboratory. This activity was performed in eight lab sections, considering seven different lab assignments, with 56 homemade educational videos. Each course had an instructor who guided the students and gave their feedback to improve the video quality. The final video output was subjected to an evaluation process consisting of three steps: the instructors’ evaluation, pedagogical analysis, and communicational review. Making educational videos at home could be an excellent alternative to boost the transfer of chemistry knowledge through didactic and audiovisual resources that promote learning within the university, from home, and in remote environments.