Electrosynthesis and properties of self-doped polyaniline

Summary form only given. Self-doped conducting polymers are of considerable interest for recent years. In this study, aminobenzenesulfonic acid (ABS) was polymerized electrochemically to obtain self-doped and water soluble polyaniline. Electrochemical polymerization was performed under controlled current of 0.3 mA cm/sup -2/ in 0.5 M H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ solution containing 0.125 M monomeric ABS. The polymeric product was precipitated by the addition of methanol after passing the electricity of 2 F mol/sup -1/. The electric conductivity values of polymers derived from three isomers of ABS were in the order of 10/sup -3/ S cm/sup -1/ for as prepared samples, but increased to 10/sup -1/ - 10/sup -2/ S cm/sup -1/ by chemical doping with Fe(III). As is expected for the self-doped polyaniline, the conductivity was unchanged by treating with neutral or alkaline solutions. These polymers were easily soluble in water and showed fairly reversible redox peak around 0.6 V (vs. SCE) in CV diagram.