Chemical oxidation polymerization and characterization of poly ortho-anisidine

Abstract

Poly o-anisidine (POA) is a conductive polymer that can conduct electrons by a π - conjugated system. POA is a derivative of polyaniline, however, it still exhibits low electrical conductivity. This work is focused on the improvement of electrical conductivity of POA by synthesizing POA in nanoparticle forms using an anion as dopant. POA nanoparticles were obtained by chemical oxidation polymerization using an ammonium persulfate as an oxidant and a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a surfactant template for controlling size and shape of POA. The properties of the POA nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analyzer, and scanning electron microscopy. The POA nanoparticles shapes were Nano-fibers with diameter varying diameter from 63 to 129 nm depending on the polymerization temperature, polymerization time, and SDS concentration. The electrical conductive obtained varied from 0.022 to 198 S/cm, a variation of 4 orders of magnitude, depending on the POA nanoparticle size. The smallest POA nanoparticle size provided the highest electrical conductivity because of the larger surface area. Thus, this work shows the higher electrical conductivity of the synthesized Nano-fiber shape of POA which have not previously been reported elsewhere.