Synthesis and Characterization of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Anionic Surfactant Doped Nanosize Polyaniline

Surfactant doped polyaniline was synthesized in the aqueous solution of aniline and anionic surfactant of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFO) by chemical synthesis using potassium peroxy disulphate as an oxidant by varying the aniline to surfactant ratio. The solubility of the chemically prepared surfactant doped polyaniline (PANI) was ascertained and it showed good solubility in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), dimethylformamide (DMF), acetone, acetonitrile, ethanol, aceticacid, trichloroethylene, dichloromethane, tetrahydrofuran, ethylacetate, diethylether, toluene, chloroform and sparingly soluble in n-hexane and water. The prepared polymers were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-visible, X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetric (CV), EIS and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The analysis of UV-visible and FTIR showed that aniline has been polymerized to PANI in its conducting emeraldine form. FTIR spectra showed that the peaks at 1670, 3315 and 1400 cm−1 corresponded to PFO. FTIR spectra showed that amine peak observed at 1593 cm−1 was shifted to lower wave number due to the interaction between PANI and the surfactant. SEM analysis showed that the variation in morphology of doped PANI was predominantly dependent on the concentration of the surfactant. Elemental analysis was done by energy dispersive spectroscopic (EDAX) which shows the presence of C, N, O, S and F. XRD pattern showed that the formation of nanosized (18 nm) and crystalline polymer. CV studies of the synthesized polymer exhibited good adherent behavior on electrode surface. It exhibited three oxidation peaks at approximately 0.283 V, 0.541 V and 0.989 V and two reduction peaks at 0.1421 and 0.3854 V. Electrical conductivity of PFO doped PANI was studied by impedance spectroscopic method.