Confinement of Polyaniline Chains in Thin Layers of the Polymer Solution

Abstract

Electronic absorption spectra of polyaniline (PANI) solutions in a transparent cell were observed to change as the cell gap was reduced to ∼10 μm. Although the cell gap size was wide enough, at least two orders of magnitude larger than the polymer coils in the solution, the observed changes were explained by self-confinement of polymer molecules at the liquid/solid interface as a result of their intense adsorption and depletion of the relatively small solution volume, respectively. It was shown that the cell material affects electronic spectra of confined polymer solutions.