Narrowing the size distribution of the polymer acid improves PANI conductivity
Tracy L. Bucholz,Suyong Jung,Yueh-Lin Loo
Journal of Materials Chemistry Pub Date : 05/12/2008 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/B802829J
Abstract

By narrowing the size distribution of the polymer acid template, polyaniline (PANI) that is subsequently template synthesized exhibits enhanced conductivity. We used poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid), PAAMPSA, as the polymer acid and it was synthesized by both conventional free-radical polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). ATRP-derived PAAMPSA, or aPAAMPSA, has a narrower size distribution compared to conventional PAAMPSA at comparable molecular weights. In general, PANIaPAAMPSA is two to three times as conductive as PANIPAAMPSA. The enhanced conductivity of PANIaPAAMPSA is strongly correlated with increases in the conjugation length and crystallinity of PANI. More surprisingly, PANIaPAAMPSA adopts a crystal structure that is different from that of PANIPAAMPSA, but one that is similar to that of PANI doped with a molecular acid counterpart of AAMPSA.

Graphical abstract: Narrowing the size distribution of the polymer acid improves PANI conductivity