Savas Kanbur, Gulcin Ozcan Ates, Sinem Altinisik*, Ulas Cinar**, and Fatma Baycan***,†
Department of Medical Services and Techniques, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Canakkale, Turkey
*Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Canakkale, Turkey
**Occupational Health and Safety Education Application and Research Center, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17100 Canakkale, Turkey
***Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Canakkale, Turkey
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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.
Keywords: benzimidazole polymer, thiophene, antimicrobial activity, polymer salts, occupational health.
2021; 45(6): 817-823
Published online Nov 25, 2021
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Canakkale, Turkey