%0 Journal Article %J RSC Advances %D 2021 %T Copolymers of bipyridinium and metal (Zn & Ni) porphyrin derivatives; theoretical insights and electrochemical activity towards CO2 %A Kochrekar, Sachin %A Kalekar, Ajit %A Mehta, Shweta %A Damlin, Pia %A Salomaki, Mikko %A Granroth, Sari %A Meltola, Niko %A Joshi, Kavita %A Kvarnstrom, Carita %X This study reports the electropolymerization of novel keto functionalized octaethyl metal porphyrins (Zn2+ and Ni2+) in the presence of 4,4 `-bipyridine (4,4 `-bpy) as a bridging nucleophile. The polymer films were characterized by electrochemical, spectroscopic (UV-Vis, XPS, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy) and imaging (AFM and SEM) techniques. The absorption and electronic spectra confirm the presence of both porphyrin and 4,4 `-bipyridine units in the film. The surface morphology reveals homogeneous film deposition with average roughness values of approx. 8 nm. The theoretical studies performed offered insights into the interplay of different metal centres (Zn2+ and Ni2+) and the keto functionality of the porphyrin unit in the formation of copolymer films. The electrochemical interaction of polymer films with CO2 suggests a reversible trap and release of CO2 with low energy barriers for both the polymers. %B RSC Advances %V 11 %P 19844-19855 %8 JUN %G eng %N 32 %9 Article %3 Foreign %4 3.361 %R 10.1039/d1ra01945g