New boronic-acid- and boronate-substituted aromatic compounds as precursors of fluoride-responsive conjugated polymer films

New electropolymerizable aromatic compounds (i.e. pyrrole, thiophene, anili ne) bearing boronic acid and ester substituents have been synthesized and t heir electrochemical behavior has been investigated. Functionalized polythi ophene and polypyrrole films could be anodically generated in acetonitrile, whereas the polyaniline derivative was electroformed in an acidic aqueous solution. The electrochemical responses of some of these materials were cha nged when fluoride ions were added to the electrolytic solutions. The stron gest modifications, caused by binding of fluoride by the immobilized boron, were observed for the polypyrrole derivative in hydroorganic media.