EPR monitoring of aniline polymerization: Kinetics and reaction mechanism

The possibility of using EPR spectroscopy to monitor the current concentration of polyaniline and control the kinetics of aniline polymerization is shown. Kinetic measurements were carried out for various temperatures, initial concentrations of reagents. Autocatalysis was detected in all cases. It was shown that the order of polyaniline-catalyzed oxidation of aniline changes from the first to the second as a result of a decrease in the monomer concentration. A new approach to deriving an equation for the rate of oxidative polymerization of aniline and its derivatives is proposed taking into account the physical adsorption and chemisorption of the monomer, and the reaction mechanism is considered. [Display omitted] •Derived an equation for the rate of polymerization of aniline and its derivatives.•EPR method allows you to monitor the current concentration of polymerization products.•Chemisorption of aniline on polyaniline limits the rate of the catalytic stage.•The order of the catalytic stage depends on the concentration of the monomer.•Methods for calculating the kinetic parameters of aniline polymerization are proposed.