To Investigate the Electrochemical Behaviors of Bis-Chalcone Derivatives

Abstract

The electrochemical behavior of (2E,5E)-2,5-dibenzylidenecyclopentanone (P1) and (2E,5E)-2,5-bis(4-nitrobenzylidene)cyclopentanone (P2) known as bis-chalcone derivatives was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) using an indium tin oxide (ITO) as the working electrode. Repeated cyclic voltammograms measurements exhibited excellent long-term redox stability for bis-chalcone derivatives. The oxidation peak for in the anodic region for the 1st cycle of the P1 appeared at -0.20 V, while the oxidation peak of P2 was observed at -0.47 V. On the other hand, the existence of the electron attracting NO2 group at p-position on the benzene ring in the structure of P2 caused an increase in the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy gap. The surface morphology and structural features of P1 and P2 films coated onto ITO glass substrates were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). SEM micrographs demonstrated that the P1 and P2 were homogeneously distributed over the ITO surface. After CV measurement, it was observed that the grain size of P2 increased with increasing ITO surface roughness. Moreover, the EDS results confirmed the presence of P1 and P2 on the ITO surface.

Keywords

• bis-chalcone derivatives
• cyclic voltammetry
• electrochemistry