THE EFFECT OF MONOMER AND ACID CONCENTRATIONS ON ELECTROCHEMICAL POLYANILINE FORMATION IN ACETONITRILE

The electro-oxidation behavior of aniline on a Pt surface in acetonitr ile+tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) solution was investigated us ing cyclic voltammetry. The effects of aniline concentration and the a dded acid were elucidated. The polyaniline films were characterized by their cyclic voltammograms in blank solution and dry conductivities w ere measured using the four-probe technique. As expected from the mech anism of the electro-oxidation of aniline, improvements in the quality and quantity of the polyaniline films were obtained by adding anhydro us acid to the medium. Furthermore, it was found that the concurrent g eneration of acid through in-situ oxidation of dissolved molecular hyd rogen was the most efficient way of improving the polymer yield and pr operties.