Electrochemical oxidation in different media of bis(p-phenylene crown ether) as a symmetrical molecule bearing two identical redox centers

The oxidation of the long chain polyether p-disubstituted benzene derivative (BO5O5) and the related macrocyclic paracyclophane (BBO5O5) have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry at different concentrations (10⁻³–3×10⁻² M) and potential scan rates (0.05–250 V s⁻¹). At about 10⁻³ M in CH₃CN or CH₂Cl₂ containing a perchlorate salt as the supporting electrolyte, BO5O5 was oxidized reversibly into moderately stable radical cations. The formal potential E°′ corresponding to this first oxidation step was found to be shifted towards more positive values when the cation was changed from Bu₄N⁺ to Na⁺, and this variation may be ascribed to the coordination of the alkali cation by the polyether chains. At higher concentrations of the reactant and in a thoroughly dried medium, no deposit of a polymeric material onto the electrode surface was electrogenerated. At low scan rates and under the same conditions, the oxidation of BBO5O5 gave rise to two closely spaced, irreversible processes. The radical cations involved in each step were thought to be highly reactive towards nucleophilic species present in solution. At high scan rates, a single reversible one-electron transfer was observed, the formal potential of which varied with the nature of the electrolyte cation in the same way as for BO5O5. The heterogeneous charge-transfer rate constants estimated for BO5O5 and BBO5O5 were compared with the values predicted by the Marcus theory. As for BO5O5, attempts to electropolymerize BBO5O5 were unsuccessful.