Doping and undoping of OH^- during redox processes of poly(vinyl ferrocene)

Poly(vinyl ferrocene) (PVF) electro-oxidation proceeds via coupled oxidation of uncharged ferrocene sites and entry of counterions and solvent into the film. Studies of PVF in the literature often neglect the OH^- doping in salt solutions due to its relatively low concentration compared to other major counterions. In this report, the role of OH^- ion in the redox processes of PVF in NaClO₄ solutions was studied by monitoring the dynamic changes of the pH near the PVF-modified electrode surface. Our study demonstrated that the OH^- ions share an important portion in the counterion doping/undoping processes in neutral NaClO₄ solution.