Host-guest complexation: a general strategy for electrosynthesis of conductive polymers.

Inclusion compounds using hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin as host molecule have been used to electropolymerize some hydrophobic organic compounds in a queous medium. This general strategy makes it possible to grow conducting p olymers in aqueous medium by anodic oxidation. It is an easy method of obta ining conducting polymers in a very mild manner. Some threaded conducting m olecular wire and some water-soluble and processable materials were obtaine d. Specific conducting polymers which seem to be encapsulated by hydroxypro pyl-beta-cyclodextrin with some specific inter-chain organization were depo sited on solid electrodes.