Aqueous dispersions of DBSA‐doped polyaniline: One‐pot preparation, characterization, and properties study

Abstract

AbstractAniline was polymerized in the presence of dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) as a functionalized protonic acid, in an aqueous medium to directly synthesize polyaniline (PANI)‐DBSA particles. DBSA acted as a dopant and a surfactant with stabilizing PANI‐DBSA dispersions by formation of strong hydrogen bonds. The NH+…SO interactions between the PANI chains and the DBSA appeared at 1026 cm−1 in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum. Elemental analysis was used to determine the degree of sulfonation (S/N ratio) of PANI chains and resulted that the sulfur‐to‐nitrogen ratio is 0.35. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) technique was used to analyze thermal properties of the particles and resulted that the synthesized PANI‐DBSA particles have high thermal stability. The moisture, DBSA and PANI contents of the PANI‐DBSA were estimated from TGA curve, and then the number of aniline repeating units doped with one DBSA molecule was approximately calculated. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that a chemical crosslinking reaction occurs between the PANI chains during thermal treatment of PANI‐DBSA. The morphology of PANI‐DBSA powder was investigated by scanning electron microscopy technique and showed that the PANI particles develops from round particles to a smooth surface. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009