Effect of Aniline Oligomer on the Electrosynthesis of Polyaniline Fibres

Abstract

In this paper, polyaniline (PANI) fibres were prepared by electrochemical polymerization from the solutions of aniline and hydrochloric acid in the presence of different concentrations of aniline oligomer. The influences of adding a small amount of aniline oligomeric additives, such as p-aminodiphenylamine (PADPA), p-phenylenediamine (PPDA) to the electrochemical polymerization system of aniline on polyaniline fibres have been investigated. Change in fibre diameter with the concentration of aniline oligomer were investigated. Morphologies of PANI fibres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrochemical behaviors of PANI fibres were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The results show that with the addition of PADPA, PPDA to aniline polymerization system, the rate of polymerization increases greatly, and more lower potentials can be applied to generate electroactive PANI fibres with more finer and uniform structure.