Enzymatic synthesis of conductive polyaniline in the presence of ionic liquid

Enzyme catalyzed aniline polymerization has shown notable advantages, such as benign process and good solvent solubility for polyaniline. In this study, we further explored the possibility of using anionic surfactant sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) as the template for the synthesis of conductive polyaniline by horseradish peroxidise (HRP), particularly in the presence of imidazolium-based ionic liquid [bmim]OTF. We found that the use of [bmim]OTF offered the protection for HRP against the inactivation by SDBS. Meanwhile, [bmim]OTF ensured the synthesis of conductive PANI in the presence of SDBS based on UV–vis spectrophotometer analysis. The conductive PANI was further characterized by FTIR, TGA, and cyclic voltammetry. Our results demonstrated that the enzymatic synthesized PANI in the presence of both SDBS and [bmim]OTF possessed excellent electrochemical properties.