Electrochemically assisted polyamide deposition at three-phase junction

Abstract

A three-phase junction formed between a solid electrode placed between solutions of the organic phase and the aqueous phase is employed for localized and electrochemically assisted nylon-6,6 deposition. The fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive support (serving as the working electrode) is immersed into the cell filled with the aqueous solution of 1,6-hexanediamine (1,6-DAH) and the organic solution of adipoyl chloride (AC) dissolved in 1,2-dichloroethane. The interfacial polycondensation reaction between these two reagents occurs spontaneously at the liquid–liquid interface at elevated pH and is inhibited when diamine is fully protonated. With this in mind, we have designed a system where the pH close to the three-phase junction was increased using electrochemical water reduction triggering very localized polyamide deposition.

Keywords

• Electro-assisted deposition
• Interfacial polycondensation
• Nylon-6,6
• Liquid–liquid interface
• Polymer
• FTO