Investigation of the electropolymerization of o‐toluidine and p‐phenylenediamine and their electrocopolymerization by in situ ultraviolet–visible spectroelectrochemistry

Abstract

AbstractUnder the conditions of potentiostatic electrolysis, the electropolymerization of o‐toluidine (OT) and para‐phenylenediamine (PPDA) and the electrocopolymerization between OT and PPDA on an indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive glass electrode at potentials of 0.7, 0.8, and 0.9 V were studied in detail by in situ ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectrometry in 0.5 mol/L sulfuric acid media. It was shown that both OT and PPDA could be electropolymerized on the ITO electrode, which depended on the applied electrolysis potential and the concentration of the monomer. Furthermore, in situ UV–vis spectra indicated that the electrocopolymerization between OT and PPDA could happen. The presence of PPDA not only promoted polymerization but also accelerated polymerization, which was attributed to the formation of an intermediate result from the coupling of PPDA and the toluidine monomer cation radical. PPDA could be incorporated into the copolymer to make the copolymer have a phenazine or phenazine‐like cyclic structure, which was proven by the reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectra of the polymer and copolymer. The scanning electron microscopy morphology images of the polymers obtained showed that, in addition to accelerating polymerization, PPDA also could change the method of nucleation for the polymer to make the copolymer possess a fibrous surface morphology. The diameter of the fibroid copolymer was about 100 nm, and the length of that reached about 1000 nm. In the article, a newer concerned mechanism of copolymerization was proposed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010