Characteristics of polyaniline electrosynthesized in propylene carbonate medium in the presence of di- and trichloroacetic acids

Abstract

In the present work the characterization of polyaniline electrosynthesized in propylene carbonate medium in the presence of di- and trichloroacetic acids was performed using different techniques. The electrochemical response by cyclic voltammetry showed redox processes due to the formation of polaron and bipolaron and polymer degradation. The characterization by infrared and UV-visible spectroscopies indicated that the polymers are in the emeraldine salt form with perchlorate anions incorporated. The films produced with both acids in propylene carbonate media presented a compact morphology as observed by scanning electron microscopy. By testing the polyaniline film produced in selected conditions in a lithium battery environment it was found that it presents a high coulombic efficiency, promising for battery applications.

Keywords

• conducting polymers
• polyaniline
• dichloroacetic acid
• trichloroacetic acid
• propylene carbonate