Electrochemical polymerization of aniline in the presence of poly(acrylic acid) and characterization of the resulting films

Conducting films composed of polyaniline (PANI) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were prepared by electrochemical polymerization of aniline in the presence of PAA. The PAA content in the films (PANI/PAA films) was controlled by the concentration of PAA in polymerization solution, and the properties of the films were investigated in relation to the PAA content. It was demonstrated by means of scanning electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry that the surface morphology and electrochemical property of the films were affected significantly by the PAA content. In contrast, the conductivity of the films was found hardly dependent on the PAA content up to 18 wt %. The cyclic voltammetry gave an interesting result that the PANI/PAA films showed an electroactivity in neutral solution, which was not observed for the PANI film without PAA, and the electroactivity was closely related to the PAA content in the PANI/PAA films.