Influence of Organic Sulfonic Acids on the Electrochemical Synthesis of Polyaniline, Poly(o-Anisidine), and Their Copolymer

The effect of organic sulfonic acid on electrochemical, optical, and conductivity properties of polyaniline (PA), poly(o-anisidine) (POA), and their copolymer polyaniline-co-poly(o-anisidine) (PA-co-POA) thin films has been investigated. The films were synthesized electrochemically individually and then combinely as binary co-polymerization under cyclic voltammetric conditions in an aqueous solution of sulfuric acid, p-toluene sulfonic acid, sulfamic acid, and sulfosalicylic acid at room temperature. The films were electropolymerized in solution containing 0.1 M monomers and 1 M sulfuric acid or organic sulfonic acid as electrolyte by applying sequential linear potential scan rate 50 mV/s between − 0.2 and 1.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl electrode. The electrosynthesized films were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, UV–Visible spectroscopy, and conductivity measurement. The UV–Visible spectra were obtained ex situ in DMSO and peaks were observed for conducting the emeraldine salt (ES) phase in the presence o...