Effect of chain aggregation on the conductivity and ESR spectra of polyaniline

Abstract

Solutions of polyaniline in m-cresol with and without camphorsulfonic acid (CSA), as well as films cast from these solutions were studied by ESR spectroscopy at 133–423 K and by optical spectroscopy in the range λ = 350–1100 nm. An analysis of the optical and ESR spectra shows that in the solutions and films without CSA polyaniline is fully doped but the conductivity of these films is low (∼10−8 S cm−1; cf. 100 S cm−1 for the films with CSA). Compared with the CSA-containing samples, the samples without CSA are characterized by broader ESR lines and higher contribution of the Curie spins to the magnetic susceptibility. These facts indicate a weak aggregation of polyaniline chains without CSA, which leads to low conductivity. A formula was proposed, which describes the temperature dependence of the polyaniline ESR linewidth and allows the interchain distance and the mobility of electrons moving along polymer chains to be determined. The conductivity of polyaniline films is affected by moderate heating (363–388 K) of the films and solutions from which the films were cast. It was found that the interchain distances correlate with the conductivity of the films and with the broadening of their ESR lines caused by the effect of O2.