Electrochemical synthesis of polyaniline microspheres in alkaline media

For the first time polyaniline microspheres doped with iron oxide were synthesized in basic media through electrochemical synthesis. UV-vis spectra suggested that metal oxide interacted synergistically with both groups quinoid and benzoid, with an absorption in ca. 560 nm and 290 nm, present in the polymeric matrix. The infrared spectra specifically at a wavelength of 656 cm(-1) indicated the presence of (Fe2O3) in the polyaniline. The thermal analysis TG indicated that the iron oxide is inserted among the polymeric polyaniline chains. The analysis of the SEM images showed that polyaniline synthesized without iron oxide also present irregular microspheres in size ca. 238 nm. The microspheres with iron oxide have regular format and average size around 1.14 mu m. The materials presented an oxidation peak in ca. 0.27 V and a reduction peak in 0.49 V with a reversible electroactivity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.