Thiophene-benzimidazolium Polymer Salts: Synthesis, Characterization, Antimicrobial Activities, and Evaluation in Terms of Occupational Health

Abstract

A new thiophene benzimidazole based polymer (TBIP) was synthesized and then the TBIP-Br, TBIP-BF4 and TBIP-ClO4 polymer salts were obtained in water. All polymer salts can be dissolved in environmentally friendly solvents such as water or ethanol. Electrochemical and optical properties of the polymers were elucidated with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and ultraviolet-visible absorption (UV-Vis) spectroscopy. By using CV, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) values were found as approximately 1.70 eV. According to the atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the thin film of TBIP, there are homogeneously distributed and smaller particles on the film surface, while the surface of TBIP-Br and TBIP-ClO4 thin films is rougher due to -Br and -ClO4 counter ions being bigger than -BF4. Additionally, the antimicrobial activity of TBIP polymers was also investigated. All TBIP and its salts were showed antimicrobial activity against S. aureus ATCC 6538 and no antimicrobial activity against E. coli ATCC 1301 and ATCC 25922.