Influence of reaction time on the structure of polyaniline synthesized on a pre-pilot scale

• Main Authors: Maria Alice Carvalho Mazzeu, Lohana Komorek Faria, Mauricio Ribeiro Baldan, Mirabel Cerqueira Rezende, Emerson Sarmento Gonçalves
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazilian Society of Chemical Engineering
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering
• Subjects: Chemical reactor; spectroscopy; synthesis; conducting polymer.
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-66322018000100123&lng=en&tlng=en

Abstract The aim of this work is to follow the structural variations of polyaniline (PAni) obtained by chemical oxidation on a pre-pilot scale, with different reaction times. Synthesis of PAni is well known, but when it is carried out on a pre-pilot scale, several factors can lead to structural changes and understanding these changes is important to improve controls on the synthesis process. The polymers formed were characterized by spectroscopic techniques (Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared - FTIR and UV-Visible). Degree of oxidation and yield were calculated for each reaction time. The analysis by FTIR, the calculated degree of oxidation and the yield showed significant changes in polymer structure at reaction times of 65 and 80 min. This result was attributed to the excessive oxidation of PAni, with the breaking of its polymer chain. The changes observed in the structure of PAni gave subsidies to the optimization of the process of obtaining polyaniline by chemical synthesis.