Synthesis of ferrocene copolymers and investigation of their electrochemical properties.

Ferrocene is an organometallic compound. It is a classical metallocene consisting of two cyclopentadienyl rings bound on opposite sides of a central iron atom. Such organometallic compounds are also called sandwich compounds. Ferrocene copolymers have well known electrochemical capabilities. The main objective of this thesis is to synthesize vinyl ferrocene copolymers and test their electrochemical properties in aqueous solutions with different electrolytes (sodium nitrate, sodium perchlorate, and phosphate buffered saline). Vinylferrocene and 3-phenyl[5]ferrocenophane-1,5- dimethylene were synthesized using a Wittig reaction. Both ferrocene monomers were copolymerized with N-ethylmaleimide and N-phenylmaleimide and the resulting polymers were analyzed by Gel Permeation chromatography, IR and NMR. Cyclic voltammetry was used to characterize electrochemical properties of the copolymers. Ferrocene copolymers were deposited on the working electrode and the performance of the modified electrode versus electrolyte solution was studied. The application of this research is to understand how organometallic compounds work with electrolyte solutions to produce sensors with potential use in biological systems