Enzyme-Catalyzed Synthesis of Water-Soluble Conjugated Poly[2-(3-thienyl)-Ethoxy-4-Butylsulfonate]
School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
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Academic Editor: Katja Loos
Polymers 2016, 8(4), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym8040139
Received: 17 March 2016 / Revised: 1 April 2016 / Accepted: 8 April 2016 / Published: 13 April 2016
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enzymatic Polymer Synthesis)
An environmentally friendly water-soluble conjugated polythiophene poly[2-(3-thienyl)-ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate] (PTEBS) has been found to be effective for making hybrid solar cells. In this work, we first report the enzyme-catalyzed polymerization of (3-thienyl)-ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate (TEBS) using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme as a catalyst and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an oxidant in an aqueous buffer. This enzyme-catalyzed polymerization is a “green synthesis process” for the synthesis of water-soluble conjugated PTEBS, the benefits of which include a simple setting, high yields, and an environmentally friendly route. Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and UV–Vis absorption spectra confirm the successful enzyme-catalyzed polymerization of TEBS. The thermo gravimetric (TG) data show the obtained PTEBS is stable over a fairly high range of temperatures. The present PTEBS has a good solubility in water and ethanol, and photoluminescence quenching of PTEBS/titanium dioxide (TiO2) composite implies that the excitons dissociate and separate successfully at the interface of PTEBS and TiO2, which help to build solar cells using green processing methods.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Zhao, Y.; Zhu, H.; Wang, X.; Liu, Y.; Wu, X.; Zhou, H.; Ni, Z. Enzyme-Catalyzed Synthesis of Water-Soluble Conjugated Poly[2-(3-thienyl)-Ethoxy-4-Butylsulfonate]. Polymers 2016, 8, 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym8040139
AMA Style
Zhao Y, Zhu H, Wang X, Liu Y, Wu X, Zhou H, Ni Z. Enzyme-Catalyzed Synthesis of Water-Soluble Conjugated Poly[2-(3-thienyl)-Ethoxy-4-Butylsulfonate]. Polymers. 2016; 8(4):139. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym8040139
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhao, Yun; Zhu, Hongyan; Wang, Xinyang; Liu, Yingying; Wu, Xiang; Zhou, Heyuan; Ni, Zhonghai. 2016. "Enzyme-Catalyzed Synthesis of Water-Soluble Conjugated Poly[2-(3-thienyl)-Ethoxy-4-Butylsulfonate]" Polymers 8, no. 4: 139. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym8040139
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