POLYANILINE DOPED WITH HETEROPOLYANIONS - SPECTROSCOPIC AND CATALYTICPROPERTIES

Acid-base properties of heteropolyacids make it possible to introduce them quite easily into a polyaniline matrix via classical acid-base do ping. The present work shows, that a new type of polymer-supported cat alyst can be obtained in this way. It has been discovered that such ca talysts are active in ethyl alcohol conversion. Of the two methods of synthesis studied, i.e. preparation of polyaniline and its protonation in two separate steps and the one-step procedure, the former results in more catalytically active products. This is presumably caused by th e hindered diffusion of heteropolyanions between polymer chains in the former case. Thus, they stay mainly at the surface of the polymer mat rix and are more easily accessible for the alcohol.