Preparation and characterization of conducting poly(vinyl chloride)-g-poly (aniline) copolymer

The electrically conductive graft (g) copolymer, Poly(vinyl chloride)-g-poly(aniline) (PVC-g-PAni) was prepared by the electrochemical polymerization of aniline using a precursor polymer, poly(vinyl-1,4-phenylenediamine) (PVPD) which was spin-coated on a working electrode. PVPD was synthesized chemically by reacting PVC with potassium 1,4-phenylenediamine salt and characterized using FI'-IR and H-1 NMR spectroscopy. The electrochemical, electrical, morphological and thermal properties of PVC-g-PAni copolymer were investigated and compared with those of a PVC/PAni composite. The results of cyclic voltammometry, chronoamperometry, scanning electron microscopy, and conductivity measurement support the formation of a graft copolymer. The conductivity of the graft copolymer was about 0.17 S/cm which was about one order of magnitude higher than that of the composite. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.