Confinement of polyaniline chains in thin layers of the polymer solution

Electronic absorption spectra of polyaniline (PANI) solutions in a transpar ent cell were observed to change as the cell gap was reduced to similar to 10 mum. Although the cell gap size was wide enough, at least two orders of magnitude larger than the polymer coils in the solution, the observed;chang es were explained by self-confinement of polymer molecules at the liquid/so lid 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. (C) 2001 Academic Press.