Electrochemical behaviour of viologen-cyclodextrin inclusion complexes. The case of non-alkyl group substituted viologen

The electrochemical behavior of non-alkyl substituted viologen, 4,4-dibenzyl bipyridinium (BzV), 4,4-dicyanophenyl bipyridinium (CyV) and -,-,-cyclodextrin (, , -CD) was studied using cyclic voltammetry and a spectroelectrochemical method. It was found that BzV and Fe(CN) ₆ ^4– formed a charge-transfer (CT) complex with a ratio of 21 and the colour of the solution faded with the addition of an electrolyte. This behaviour is the same as in then-heptyl viologen and ferrocyanide system 1]. BzV, -CD and -CD formed an inclusion complex only in the reduced state, whilst BzV and -CD formed an inclusion complex in both the oxidized and the reduced state. An EC scheme in which a chemical reaction follows an electrochemical reaction was considered to predominate in the BzV and -, -CD systems, while a CE scheme in which a chemical reaction preceded an electrochemical reaction predominated in the BzV and -CD system. On the other hand, CyV was found to form an inclusion complex with -, -, -CD in both the oxidized and the reduced states. therefore a CE scheme was considered to predominate in the CyV--, -, -CD systems.