in situ Conductivity and UV-Vis Spectroelectrochemical Measurements of Chemically Synthesized Polyaniline and Poly(o-toluidine)

Since the discovery of conducting polyacetylene in 1977, intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) have attracted substantial attention due to their unique properties and potential applica-tions ^{[1 ,2 ]}. Among ICPs, polyaniline (PANI) and its derivatives are under extensive investigations because of their high environmental stability, simple polymerization process and tunable electrical conductivity ^{[ 3- 5]}.

PANI has potential applications in batteries ^{[ 6]}, anion exchangers ^{[ 7, 8]}, tissue engineering ^{[9 ]},
corrosion protection^{[ 10]}, sensors ^{[11 ]} and so on. However, the stiffness of PANI backbone makes it insoluble in common organic solvents and thus limits its technological applications ^{[12, 13]}.

In a recent attempt, PANI and its derivative poly(o-toluidine) POT, was synthesized according to the following inverse emulsion pathway in which a mixture of chloroform and 2-butanol was used as dispersing medium for the first time ^[14] . The polymers were collected in their salt form and were found to be pure and completely soluble in a large number of common organic solvents. In the present project these polymers will be tested in situ for their conductance as well as in-situ UV-Vis spectroelectrochemical properties.


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