Electrochemical process for the production of electrically conducting poly(alkoxythiophenes) with carboxylic acids added

Claim 1

A process for the production of an electrically conducting poly(alkoxythiophene) in the doped or oxidized form comprising electrochemical anodic polymerization or doping of compounds of the formula (I): ##STR12## in which R 1 is a straight-chain or branched (C 1 -C 30 )alkoxy group or --O(CH 2 CH 2 O) n CH 3 where n=1 to 4, and R 2 is a hydrogen atom, a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl group, a (C 1 -C 30 )-alkoxy group or --O(CH 2 CH 2 O) n CH 3 where n=1 to 4, or R 1 and R 2 together form the radical --O(CH 2 ) m CH 2 --or --O(CH 2 ) m O--where m=1 to 12, or compounds of the formula (II): ##STR13## in which at least one of the radicals R 3 , R 4 , R 5 or R 6 is a straight-chain or branched (C 1 -C 30 )alkoxy group or --)(CH 2 CH 2 O) n CH 3 where n=1 to 4, and the remainder of the radicals R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 represent a hydrogen atom, a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl group or a (C 1 -C 30 )alkoxy group, and R 7 is an arylene group, a heteroarylene group or a conjugated system of the formula (CH═CH) p , in which p is zero, 1, 2 or 3, or R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are, independently of one another, a hydrogen atom, a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl group or a (C 1 -C 30 )-alkoxy group, or R 7 is a radical of the formula (III): ##STR14## in which R 8 is a straight-chain or branched (C 1 -C 30 )alkoxy group or --O(CH 2 CH 2 O) n CH 3 , where n=1 to 4, and R 9 is a hydrogen atom, a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl group or a (C 1 -C 30 )alkoxy group, optionally polymerizing compounds of formula (I) or (II) together with one or more comonomers of the formula (IV) ##STR15## in which R 11 and R 12 , independently of one another, are a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl, alkoxyalkyl, arylmethyl or aryl group or, together with the carbon atoms joining them, form an aromatic ring, R 10 and R 13 , independently of one another, are a hydrogen atom or R 10 together with R 11 and the carbon atoms joining them or R 12 together with R 13 and the carbon atoms joining them each form an aromatic ring, X is an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, an NH group, an N-alkyl group or an N-aryl group or together with a comonomer of the formula (V) ##STR16## in which R 14 and R 15 , independently of one another, are a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl group, a (C 1 -C 30 )alkoxy group or a (C 1 -C 4 )acylamino group, R 16 is a halogen atom, a (C 1 -C 12 )alkyl group, a (C 1 -C 30 )alkoxy group or a (C 1 -C 4 )acylamino group, and X has the meaning specified above, in an electrolyte solvent in the presence of a conducting salt and additionally in the presence of a proton source in the form of at least one monomeric or polymeric carboxylic acid whose anions differ from the anions of the conducting salt, such that less than 10 mol % of any anions incorporated in the poly(alkoxythiophene) during the anodic polymerization and doping originate from the carboxylic acid, and more than 90 mol % originate from the conducting salt.