Polymerization of aniline and alkyl ring-substituted anilines in the presence of aromatic additives

A new synthetic method for the preparation of electrically conductive polyaniline and alkyl ring-substituted polyanilines is presented, in which a small amount of aromatic additives is introduced into both chemical and electrochemical polymerization systems. In the presence of the additives, such as p-aminodiphenylamine, benzidine, and p-phenoxyaniline, the rate of polyaniline formation increases greatly; and lower applied potentials, e.g., 0.55 V vs SCE, or milder oxidants, e.g., O{sub 2}, can be effectively employed in the polymerization. All of these additives have lower oxidation potentials than the aniline monomers and at least one sterically accessible aromatic amino group which allow their incorporation into polymer chains as a part of the structural backbones. In contrast, addition of N,N-diphenylamine or hydroquinone to the polymerization system reduces the rate of polymer formation. The results are consistent with the proposed mechanism of polymerization.