Water-processable nanocomposite based on polyaniline and 2D molybdenum disulfide for NIR-transparent ambipolar transport layers

Polymer nanocomposite based on stable water-dispersible polyaniline complex with poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PANI–PAMPSA) and 2D molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂) was developed. The nanocomposite layers obtained by drop-casting were characterized by Vis–NIR- and FTIR spectroscopies, as well as by atomic force, transmission electron, and Kelvin-probe microscopies, X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, Hall effect, and DC-conductivity measurements. It was shown that the preparation procedure allows easy adjusting of MoS₂ content in the nanocomposite resulting in the growth of DC conductivity by up to six times in the case of 20 wt% MoS₂ as compared with the additive-free PANI–PAMPSA complex. FTIR spectroscopy revealed the existence of hydrophobic interactions between PANI–PAMPSA and 2D MoS₂ nanophase, which facilitate interchain electron transfer. Hall effect studies showed that while increasing MoS₂ content in the nanocomposite, a transition occurs from monopolar hole transport, characteristic of PANI–PAMPSA, to ambipolar transport. This feature makes the obtained PANI–PAMPSA/MoS₂ composite a promising material for different optoelectronic devices, in particular tandem solar cells.     

Coating of zinc ferrite particles with a conducting polymer, polyaniline

Particles of zinc ferrite, ZnOFe2O3, were coated with polyaniline (PANI) phosphate during the in situ polymerization of aniline in an aqueous solution of phosphoric acid. The PANI-ferrite composites were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to determine the degree of coating with a conducting polymer. Even a low content of PANI, 1.4 wt%, resulted in the 45% coating of the particles' surface. On the other hand, even at high PANI content, the coating of ferrite surface did not exceeded 90%. This is explained by the clustering of hydrophobic aniline oligomers at the hydrophilic ferrite surface and the consequent irregular PANI coating. The conductivity increased from 2 x 10(-9) to 6.5 S cm(-1) with increasing fraction of PANI phosphate in the composite. The percolation threshold was located at 3-4 vol% of the conducting component. In the absence of any acid, a conducting product, 1.4 x 10(-2) Scm(-1), was also obtained. As the concentration of phosphoric acid increased to 3 M, the conductivity of the composites reached 1.8 S cm(-1) at 10-14 wt% of PANI. The ferrite alone can act as an oxidant for aniline; a product having a conductivity 0.11 S cm(-1) was obtained after a one-month immersion of ferrite in an acidic solution of aniline.     

Impedance study of thiolated polyaniline

Covalent attachment of thiolated probes to conducting polymers such as polyaniline (PANI) is a promising approach towards the development of electrochemical sensors and biosensors. However, thiolation alters the conjugated polymer backbone and influences the electrochemical behavior of the conducting polymer. PANI studied in this work was electropolymerized on glassy carbon (GC) electrodes from a solution of 0.1 M aniline in 0.5 or 1.0 M H₂SO₄. The GC/PANI electrodes were then functionalized by covalent attachment of 2-mercaptoethanol to the PANI backbone. The progress of thiolation was studied by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Thiolation of PANI was found to cause an initial decrease in electroactivity at 0–0.25 V and an increase in electroactivity at 0.25–0.6 V. However, prolonged thiolation caused a loss of electroactivity of PANI, which could be seen from EIS measurements as a dramatic decrease in the bulk redox capacitance of PANI.     

Effects of polymerization media on the nanoscale conductivity and current-voltage characteristics of chemically synthesized polyaniline films

A current sensing atomic force microscope (CS-AFM) was used to probe the conducting homogeneity and band structures of fully doped polyaniline (PANI) films prepared from in situ chemical polymerization/deposition of aniline on indium tin oxide in various inorganic acids. The charge transport properties of PANI films depend on the film thickness as well as polymerization medium. Fluctuations in conductivity are observed on all acid-doped PANI films and the conducting homogeneity was dependent on the film thickness: the conductivity of thick film is more uniform. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of all thick (>200 nm) films displayed a metal-like behavior and conductivity as high as 40 S/cm was detected in high conducting regions of film thicker than 400 nm. Whereas thin (<120 nm) films revealed insulating, semiconducting, and semimetal conducting, wide distribution in conductivity and interband distances (estimated from the I-V ordI/dV-V curves) was found. The interband distances is 0-1.35, 0-1.0, and 0-0.78 eV for thin PANI film prepared from HCl(aq), HClO(4)(aq), and H2SO4(aq), respectively. PANI film (260 nm) prepared from H2SO4(aq) revealed fiberlike morphology, and compared to PANI films prepared from HCl(aq) and HClO4(aq) with similar thickness, it has higher average nanoscale conductivity but lower bulk conductivity. This result could be direct evidence which supports that the bulk conductivity of PANI depended on the carriers hopping between the conducting domains.     

Polyaniline doped with poly(acrylamidomethylpropanesulphonic acid): electrochemical behaviour and conductive properties in neutral solutions

Poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulphonic acid) (PAMPSA)-doped polyaniline (PANI) layers are synthesised in the presence of sulphuric and perchloric acids. The effects of the inorganic acid as well as of the electrochemical synthetic procedure (potentiostatic and potentiodynamic deposition) and thickness of the polymer layers are studied. The focus is directed towards the pH dependence of the electrochemical redox activity and conductivity of the PAMPSA-doped PANI layers obtained under different conditions. Ascorbic acid oxidation is used as a test reaction to study the electrocatalytic behaviour of various PAMPSA-doped PANI layers in neutral solution. It is found that the type of inorganic component present in the polymerisation solution has a marked effect on the extent of doping in acidic solutions as well as on the redox electroactivity in neutral solutions. A comparison between potentiostatically and potentiodynamically synthesised layers at pH 7 shows a markedly lower conductance and lower extent of redox charge preservation in the case of potentiodynamic synthesis. The PANI electrocatalytic activity for ascorbic acid oxidation is also dependent on the polymer electrodeposition procedure, with potentiostatically synthesised layers exhibiting better electrocatalytic performance.     

Phenol assisted deaggregation of polyaniline chains: simple route to high quality polyaniline film

High conducting polyaniline films were readily prepared by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization/deposition of aniline in the presence of a very small amount of organic additive such as phenol. The conductivity of a thin ( approximately 150 nm) polyaniline film synthesized in the presence of 0.01 wt % of phenol ( r-PANI) is an order of magnitude higher (as well as better conducting homogeneity) than that of a film (PANI) obtained from the conventional method without an additive. r-PANI also has better adhesion and electrochemical stability/reversibility, more transparency in the visible-light region, and faster/easier doping/dedoping response compared to PANI. The function of phenol molecule is to avoid the formation of the inter- and/or intrachain hydrogen bonding during the growth of the polyaniline chains. The deaggregation/reducing intrachain hydrogen bonding of polyaniline chains by phenol molecules was revealed with IR, SAXS, and SEM data. All these data supported that phenol does assist the deaggregation of polyaniline chains during the growth of polymer chains or nanorods.     

Influence of the magnitude and direction of electric field on the transport and growth property of deposited polyaniline films

Polyaniline (PANI) films were deposited by electrochemical polymerization of aniline monomer on a fluorine-doped glass substrate at room temperature under different electric field directions. The as-synthesized PANI films obtained at different growth cycles were characterized by AC impedance spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that the film morphology, transport kinetics, and electrical properties are strongly dependent on the electric field direction and magnitude of the applied field during electropolymerization. The SEM morphology and AC impedance (modulus spectroscopy) indicate that a more homogeneous, high-porous, and conducting PANI film is induced by horizontal electric field direction (HEFD) electrodeposition, whereas the modulus spectroscopy of the PANI film deposited by vertical electric field direction (VEFD) reveals that VEFD deposition favours two-dimensional growth of PANI. The obtained polymer is more of dielectric in nature due to preferable dendritic growth which is supported by SEM analysis.     

Contribution of conformational change of polymer structure to electrochemomechanical deformation based on polyaniline

The pH dependencies of electrochemomechanical deformation (ECMD) including the cyclic voltammetry and the expansion ratio in conducting polymers, polyaniline (PANI), and poly(o-methoxyaniline) film were studied to elucidate the mechanisms. It was found that the ECMD is governed by the conformational change of polymer structure as well as the insertion of bulky ions in the manner of comparable magnitude. Expansion ratios >20% in the ECMD were demonstrated for the thickness direction of PANI film. The results suggest that the magnitude of ECMD can be improved by choosing the preparation method of films.     

Nanoscale measurements of conducting domains and current-voltage characteristics of chemically deposited polyaniline films

Spatial variations in electric conductivity and evolutions of band structures of polyaniline (PANI) films have been studied by use of a so-called current-sensing atomic force microscope (CS-AFM) or atomic force microscope current image tunneling spectroscopy (AFM-CITS). PANI films were deposited chemically onto indium-tin oxide- (ITO-) glass substrates, and their thickness and doping levels were controlled by polymerization and acid-doping conditions. The conducting uniformity of the PANI films depends on their doping level and thickness. Conducting domains were observed in fully doped PANI film, even when the bias voltage was reduced to as small as 30 mV. High current flowing regions gradually disappeared when conducting PANI films were partially dedoped. The point-contact current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of conducting tip-polymer/ITO systems were investigated on PANI films with different thickness and degree of doping. Various types of I-V curves representing metallic, semiconducting, and insulating states were obtained depending on the aggregation of polymer chains and doping level of the polymer film. The band gap energies (estimated from the I-V or dI/dV-V curves) of emeraldine base (EB) (undoped polyaniline) films are all higher than 3.8 eV, and a wide distribution of the band gap energies (0-1.1 eV and 0.75-1.8 eV for fully and partially doped PANI thin films, respectively) was found in a single polymer film.     

Specific features characterizing electrochemical synthesis of polyaniline conducted in the presence of poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) and the spectroelectrochemical characteristics of the obtained films

The electrochemical matrix polymerization of aniline in the presence of poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPSA) is performed in conditions that lead to the formation of an interpolymer complex comprising polyaniline and PAMPSA of the 1: 2 composition. The acceleration of the process of polymerization of aniline in the presence of PAMPSA as compared with traditional electropolymerization of aniline in hydrochloric acid is caused by the association of aniline molecules with the sulfo groups of PAMPSA and by a high concentration of hydrogen ions in the vicinity of a molecule of PAMPSA. It is established for the first time ever that, in the initial stages of synthesis for both polymeric and low-molecular-weight acids, the rate of polymerization is substantially greater at a smaller concentration of the acid. The distinguishing feature of the initial stage of electropolymerization of aniline at a low acidity of the environment is a non-autocatalytic character of the process, which may exert a discernible influence on a complex of physicochemical properties of polyaniline, including electric conduction. Studying spectroelectrochemical properties of the obtained films shows practical identity of their spectra with the spectra of standard polyaniline.     

Electrically conductive,melt‐processed ternary blends of polyaniline/dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid,ethylene/vinyl acetate,and low‐density polyethylene

Although polyaniline (PANI) has high conductivity and relatively good environmental and thermal stability and is easily synthesized, the intractability of this intrinsically conducting polymer with a melting procedure prevents extensive applications. This work was designed to process PANI with a melting blend method with current thermoplastic polymers. PANI in an emeraldine base form was plasticized and doped with dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) to prepare a conductive complex (PANI–DBSA). PANI–DBSA, low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), and an ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) were blended in a twin‐rotor mixer. The blending procedure was monitored, including the changes in the temperature, torque moment, and work. As expected, the conductivity of ternary PANI–DBSA/LDPE/EVA was higher by one order of magnitude than that of binary PANI–DBSA/LDPE, and this was attributed to the PANI–DBSA phase being preferentially located in the EVA phase. An investigation of the morphology of the polymer blends with high‐resolution optical microscopy indicated that PANI–DBSA formed a conducting network at a high concentration of PANI–DBSA. The thermal and crystalline properties of the polymer blends were measured with differential scanning calorimetry. The mechanical properties were also measured. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3750–3758, 2004     

Preparation and electrochemical characterization of cation- and anion-exchange/polyaniline composite membranes

Composite membranes were prepared by chemical polymerization of a thin layer of polyaniline (PANI) in the presence of a high oxidant concentration on a single face of a sulfonated cation-exchange membrane (CEM) and quaternary aminated anion-exchange membrane (AEM). IR and SEM studies for both types of membranes confirmed PANI loading on the ion-exchange membranes. PANI composite ion-exchange membranes were characterized as a function of the polymerization time by ion-exchange capacity, coating density, and membrane conductance measurements. Membrane potential measurements were performed in various electrolyte solutions in order to observe the selectivity of these membranes for different types of counterions. Membrane potential data in conjunction with membrane conductance data was interpreted on the basis of frictional considerations between membrane matrix and solute. Electrodialysis experiments, using PANI composite ion-exchange membranes with 4 h polymerization time, were performed in single and mixed electrolyte solutions for observing electromigration of solute across PANI composite ion-exchange membranes. Relative dialytic rates of Na(2)SO(4), CaCl(2), and CuCl(2) were estimated with reference to NaCl on the basis of electrodialysis experiments and it was concluded that it is possible to separate different electrolytes using PANI composite ion-exchange membranes.     

Micelle-assisted synthesis of polyaniline/magnetite nanorods by in situ self-assembly process

Polyaniline/magnetite nanocomposites consisting of polyaniline (PANI) nanorods surrounded by magnetite nanoparticles were prepared via an in situ self-assembly process in the presence of PANI nanorods. The synthesis is based on the well-known chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in an acidic environment, with ammonium persulfate (APS) as the oxidant. An organic acid (dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid, DBSA) was used to replace the conventional strong acidic (1 M HCl) environment. Here, dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid is used not only as dopant, but also as surfactant in our reaction system. So, DBSA can excellently control the morphology and size of PANI nanorods and magnetite particles. Magnetite particles were formed simultaneously during sedimentation, and the formed nanorods were also decorated by the particles. The resulting PANI/magnetite composites were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). It is found that PANI/magnetite nanorod composites have uniform size, superparamagnetism and a small mass fraction of magnetite, thermal stabilization even at a higher temperature.     

多级树状纳米结构聚苯胺的电化学制备

建立一种无模板的恒电位电聚合方法,可在室温下制备对甲基苯磺酸（p-TSA）掺杂的多级树状纳米结构聚苯胺（PANI）.根据电聚合曲线分析了PANI的聚合机理.扫描电镜（SEM）、透射电镜（TEM）观察表明制备的PANI具有均匀的多级树状纳米结构.紫外可见吸收光谱（UV-Vis）和红外光谱（FTIR）则显示所制备的PANI为掺杂态.该电沉积方法具有简便、易操作的特点,还可应用于其他纳米结构导电聚合物的可控制备.     

Polymerization of aniline on polyaniline membranes

When solutions of aniline hydrochloride and ammonium peroxydisulfate were separated by a semipermeable cellulose membrane, the reactants met at the membrane and produced a polyaniline (PANI) membrane at the interface. 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. The oxidation of aniline with peroxydisulfate consists in the transfer of electrons from aniline to the oxidant; it is proposed that electrons pass through the PANI membrane, which is conducting, and electroneutrality is maintained by the simultaneous transfer of protons. The reaction between aniline and peroxydisulfate thus takes place without the need for both reactant molecules to be in physical contact. The residual aniline is located only at its original side of the membrane, but the product of ammonium peroxydisulfate conversion, ammonium hydrogen sulfate, was found on both sides of the membrane. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy has been used to analyze PANI, the reaction residues and byproducts, and to prove that PANI is protonated with counter-ions of the sulfate type. Using this technique, we have detected only small differences in the molecular structure of PANI prepared with the membrane-separated reactants and in the polymerization when reactants were mixed; also, the molecular weights differed only marginally. The conductivity of both types of PANI was about the same. The repeated polymerization of aniline on the earlier prepared PANI-cellulose membrane yielded similar results, thus confirming the proposed concept of coupled electron- and proton-transfer through the PANI membrane.     

Self-assembled networks of conducting polyaniline in bulk polymers: A new class of conducting polymer blends

This review of the current status of conducting polymers will focus on recent progress which demonstrates that the initial promise of the late 1970's has become reality. Conducting polymers are now available as materials with truly unique properties: They combine the important electronic and optical properties of semiconductors and metals with the attractive mechanical properties and processing advantages of polymers. Conducting polymer blends based upon polyaniline (PANI) are a new class of materials in which the threshold for the onset of electrical conductivity (σ) can be reduced to volume fractions below 1%, well below that required for classical percolation (16% by volume for globular conducting objects dispersed in an insulating matrix in three dimensions). The origin of this remarkably low threshold for the onset of electrical conductivity is the self-assembled network morphology of the PANI polyblends which forms during the course of liquid-liquid separation. Since the average density of the conducting network near threshold is small, the conductivity increases smoothly and continuously over many orders of magnitude as the concentration of conducting polymer increases above threshold. The low percolation threshold and the continuous increase of σ(f) above threshold are particularly important; as a result of this combination, conducting polyblends can be reproducibly fabricated with controlled levels of electrical conductivity while retaining the desired mechanical properties of the matrix polymer.^1-3)     

Phosphoric acid diesters protonated polyaniline: Preparation,spectroscopic properties,and processability

Aliphatic and aromatic diesters of phosphoric acid were tested as dopants improving pro-cessability of polyaniline (PANI) in its doped (conducting) state. It has been found that both aromatic and aliphatic diesters effectively protonate polyaniline, inducing at the same time its solubility. The protonated state has been confirmed by three independent spec-troscopic methods (FTIR, Raman, and UV-vis-NIR). Both aromatic and aliphatic diesters of phosphoric acid plasticize polyaniline which, in turn, allows for the preparation of highly conducting films of PANI or highly conducting blends of PANI with classical nonconducting polymers by thermal processing. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Printing polyaniline for sensor applications

In recent years, much research has focused on the development of low-cost, printed electrochemical sensor platforms for environmental monitoring and clinical diagnostics. Much effort in this area has been based on utilising the redox properties of conducting polymers, particularly polyaniline (PANI). In tackling the inherent lack of processability exhibited by these materials, several groups have examined various mass-amenable fabrication approaches to obtain suitable thin films of PANI for sensing applications. Specifically, the approaches investigated over the years include the in situ chemical synthesis of PANI, the use of sulphonated derivatives of PANI and the synthesis of aqueousbased nano-dispersions of PANI. Nano-dispersions have shown a great deal of promise for sensing applications, given that they are inkjet-printable, facilitating the patterning of conducting polymer directly to the substrate. We have shown that inkjet-printed films of PANI can be finely controlled in terms of their two-dimensional pattern, thickness, and conductivity, highlighting the level of precision achievable by inkjet printing. Utilising these nanomaterials as inkjet-printable inks opens novel, facile, and economical possibilities for conducting polymer-printed electronic applications in areas of sensing, but also many other application areas such as energy storage, displays, organic light-emitting diodes. Given that inkjet-printing is a scalable manufacturing technique, it renders possible the large-scale production of devices such as sensors for a range of applications. Several successes have emerged from our work and from the work of others in the area of applying PANI in low-cost sensor applications, which is the focus of this review.     

Thermal stability of several polyaniline/rare earth oxide composites

Polyaniline/rare earth oxide composites (PANI/La₂O₃ and PANI/Sm₂O₃) were synthesized by in situ polymerization at the presence of sulfosalicylic acid (as dopant). The composites obtained were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal stability of the composites was investigated by thermogravimetry (TG) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG). The electrochemical performance of the composites was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results of FTIR, XRD, SEM, CV, and EIS show that the structure of composite has changed greatly when rare earth oxide content is >0.7 g (PANI/La₂O₃[w/w(92.7/7.3)] and PANI/Sm₂O₃[w/w(96.2/3.8)]) and the PANI in the composite has transformed into pernigraniline base (non-conducting state) from emeraldine base (conducting state). TG-DTG analysis indicates that the thermal stability of composite was higher than pure PANI, which is attributed to the interaction between PANI and rare earth oxide.