PC 17

POLYMERIZATION OF ANILINE AT THE SOLUTION-GELATIN GEL INTERFACE

N.V. Blinova, J. Stejskal, M. Trchová

^aInstitute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Heyrovského nám. 2, CZ-162 06 Praha 6, Czech Republic (blinova@imc.cas.cz)

We have recently reported a new way to prepare polyaniline (PANI), a conducting polymer, by using a semi-permeable membrane coated with PANI that separates the monomer solution and the oxidant solution.¹ The molecules of an oxidant, ammonium peroxydisulfate, and reductant, aniline, can react by exchanging electrons through the conducting PANI membrane without being in any direct contact.² The oxidative polymerization of aniline then proceeded in situ on the PANI-cellulose composite membrane. PANI was produced entirely at the monomer side of the membrane; about 80% conversion of aniline to PANI was observed after 24 h.¹

Here, we present the similar experiment, in which aniline in gelatin gel faces an oxidant in the surrounding oxidant solution. PANI is produced at first at the gel interface where both reactants meet, and the modified interface further acts as a membrane in the "membrane polymerization". In an analogy to the membrane experiment, PANI is expected to be produced at the aniline phase, i.e. within the gelatin gel. We have separated the aqueous phase after the reaction and collected the solids. The gelatin phase was hydrolyzed at 80 °C with 1 M hydrochloric acid in order to remove gelatin from PANI. It has indeed been observed that PANI has been produced with a strong preference in the gelatin gel. The morphology of such PANI was granular.

References

N.V. Blinova, J. Stejskal, M. Trchová, G. Ćirić-Marjanović, I. Sapurina, J. Phys. Chem. B 2007, 111, 2440.

2. N.M. Kocherginsky, W. Lei, Z.J. Wang, J. Phys. Chem .A 2005, 109, 4010.