Preparation of poly(1,4‐phenylene)s by electro‐oxidative polymerization

The effect of substituents on the electropolymerization of benzene derivatives and the redox properrties of the corresponding polymers were determined using Brown's substituent constants (σ⁺). Electron‐donating groups lower the oxidation potential by which increase in the current efficiency was observed. However, stabilization of the produced cation radicals by the electron‐donating groups resulted in a decrease in the polymerization efficiency. The appropriate values of σ⁺ for the efficient polymerization ranged near −1.5.