Cyclic voltammetry and XPS studies of poly (aniline-co-3-aminophenol)

Abstract

In the present work, we prepared enormously soluble poly (aniline-co-3-aminophenol) (PA-co-3-AP) copolymers via a simple chemical oxidative method with aniline and 3-aminophenol, and their properties are compared with conventional polyaniline (PA). Concerning the weight percentage (20, 40, 60 and 80%) of 3-aminophenol, the as-prepared polyamines are denoted as PA-co-3-AP20, PA-co-3-AP40, PA-co-3-AP 60 and PA-co-3-AP80, respectively. The structural determination of as-prepared polymers has been explored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Vis spectroscopy. The signature property of the conducting polymers is their tunable electrochemical behavior and the copolymers are investigated for their electrochemical activity. In the electrochemical study, the copolymers differ from PA in the single-electron oxidation and reduction, reversibly at various scan rates ranging from 20 to 50 mV. The current density decreases from PA-co-3-AP20 to PA-co-3-AP80 by increasing the loading weight percentage of 3-aminophenol in the polymeric backbone. The present investigation provides further insight into methods to prepare extremely soluble conducting polyanilines for potential electrochemical applications.