Polyaniline (PANI) is a conducting polymer of the semi-flexible rod polymer family. It was discovered in 1934 as anilin black. Polyaniline also exists naturally as part of a mixed copolymer with polyacetylene and polypyrrole in some melanins. Conductive polymers are organic polymer semiconductors. ... Semi-flexible rod polymers are a kind of conductive polymers. ... Polyacetylene (PA) is conducting polymer of the rigid-rod polymer host family. ... A Polypyrrole (PPy) is a chemical compound formed from a number of connected pyrrole ring structures. ... Broadly, melanin is any of the polyacetylene, polyaniline, and polypyrrole blacks and browns or their mixed copolymers. ...

Oxidation states

Figure 1. Main polyaniline structures n+m = 1, x = degree of polymerization

Polymerized from the aniline monomer, polyaniline can be found in one of five distinct oxidation states ^[1]: Image File history File links Polyaniline_structure. ... Image File history File links Polyaniline_structure. ... Aniline, phenylamine or aminobenzene (C6H5NH2) is an organic chemical compound which is a primary aromatic amine consisting of a benzene ring and an amino group. ... In chemistry, a monomer (from Greek mono one and meros part) is a small molecule that may become chemically bonded to other monomers to form a polymer. ... The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ...

• leucoemeraldine
• protoemeralsine
• emeraldine
• nigraniline
• pernigraniline

In figure 1 x equals half the degree of polymerization (DP). Leucoemeraldine with n = 1, m = 0 is the fully reduced state. Pernigraniline is the fully oxidized state (n = 0, m = 1) with imine links instead of amine links. The emeraldine (n = m = 0.5) form of polyaniline, often referred to as emeraldine base (EB), is either neutral or only partially reduced or oxidized. Emeraldine base is regarded as the most useful form of polyaniline due to its high stability at room temperature, compared to the easily oxidized leucoemeraldine and the easily degraded pernigraniline. Additionally, the emeraldine base polyaniline can function as a semiconductor when doped by a protic acid. The degree of polymerization, or DP, is the number of repeat units in an average polymer chain at time t in a polymerization reaction. ... An imine is a functional group or chemical compound containing a carbon-nitrogen double bond. ... The general structure of an amine Amines are organic compounds and a type of functional group that contain nitrogen as the key atom. ... A semiconductor is a solid whose electrical conductivity can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically. ... Acidity redirects here. ...

Synthesis

A tried and tested method for the synthesis of polyaniline is by oxidative polymerization with ammonium peroxydisulfate as an oxidant. The components are both dissolved in 1 M hydrochloric acid and slowly (the reaction is very exothermic) added to each other. The polymer precipitates as small particles and the reaction product is a dispersion. The electrochemical method was discovered in 1862 as a test for the determination of small quantities of aniline. A two stage model for the formation of emeraldine base is proposed. In the first stage of the reaction the pernigraniline PS salt oxidation state is formed. In the second stage pernigraniline is reduced to the emeraldine salt as aniline monomer gets oxidized to the radical cation. In the third stage this radical cation couples with ES salt. This process can be followed by light scattering analysis which allows the determination of the absolute molar mass. According to one study ^[2] in the first step a DP of 265 is reached with the DP of the final polymer at 319. 19% of the final polymer is made up of in situ form aniline radical cation. Flash point  ? °C R/S statement R: ? S: ? RTECS number  ? Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ... The chemical compound hydrochloric acid is the aqueous (water-based) solution of hydrogen chloride gas (HCl). ... Dispersion can mean any of several things: A phenomenon that causes the separation of a wave into components of varying frequency. ... Electrochemistry is the study of the electronic and electrical aspects of chemical reactions. ... Organic reductions or organic oxidations or organic redox reactions are redox reactions that take place with organic compounds. ... A radical ion is a free radical species that carries a charge. ... In particle physics, scattering is a class of phenomena by which particles are deflected by collisions with other particles. ... Molar mass is the mass of one mole of a chemical element or chemical compound. ... In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. ...

Properties

Polyaniline exists as bulk films or as dispersions. A recurring problem with these dispersions is particle aggregation which limits possible applications. A 2006 study ^[3] proposes a strategy to prevent aggregation based on a model for nucleation and aggregate formation. Dispersion can mean any of several things: A phenomenon that causes the separation of a wave into components of varying frequency. ... Particle aggregation in materials science is direct mutual attraction between particles via van der Waals forces or chemical bonding. ... Bubbles in a soft drink each nucleate independently, responding to a decrease in pressure. ...

The model identifies two nucleation modes for particle formation, one by so-called homogeneous nucleation forming long elongated nanofibers and very stable dispersions that can last for months. The other nucleation mode is by heterogeneous nucleation taking place on any alien body available in the reactor such as the surface of the reactor wall forming not elongated fiber but granular coral-like material. With polyaniline, formation by secondary nucleation also takes place on the nanofibers itself. In the study, heterogeneous nucleation is predominant when the reaction medium is stirred or when the reaction temperature is lowered. With both reaction conditions SEM imagery display nanofibers covered in a layer of coral like granules. The granules act as contact points for a nanoscale glue to link the particles together, causing aggregation. The explanation offered for the suppression of homogeneous nucleation is that this requires a local concentration gradient prior to the onset of nucleation which is destroyed by stirring or by low temperature. Conducting polymer nanofibers synthesized by nanofiber seeding approach A new synthetic approach, called “nanofiber seeding”, was developed to control the bulk morphology of chemically synthesized electronic organic polymers. ... Subclasses Alcyonaria Zoantharia See text for orders Pillar coral Corals are marine animals of the class Anthozoa, which also includes the sea anemones (order Actiniaria). ... SEM Cambridge S150 at Geological Institute, University Kiel, 1980 SEM opened sample chamber The scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope capable of producing high resolution images of a sample surface. ...

External links

• Polyaniline - Processing and Applications
• New Flexible Material Conducts Electricity

• Links to external chemical sources

References

1. ^  Synthesis, processing and material properties of conjugated polymers W. J. Feast et al. Polymer Volume 37 Number 22 pp. 5017-5047,1996
2. ^  Absolute Molecular Weight of Polyaniline Harsha S. Kolla, Sumedh P. Surwade, Xinyu Zhang, Alan G. MacDiarmid, and Sanjeev K. Manohar J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 2005; 127(48) pp 16770 - 16771; (Communication) DOI: 10.1021/ja055327k Abstract
3. ^  Shape and Aggregation Control of Nanoparticles: Not Shaken, Not Stirred Dan Li and Richard B. Kaner J. Am. Chem. Soc.; 2006; 128(3) pp 968 - 975; (Article) DOI: 10.1021/ja056609n Abstract