Effect of Graphene Oxide Addition on the Properties of Electrochemically Synthesized Polyaniline-Graphene Oxide Films

In this work, the electrochemical synthesis of PANI and GO-modified PANI was performed using cyclic voltammetry, varying the amount of GO, 1 mg (PG1), 5 mg (PG5), and 10 mg (PG10) to analyze the effect of the amount of GO on the composite. PANI, PG1, PG5, and PG10 materials were characterized using optical microscopy, SEM, UV-vis, FTIR, Raman, and wettability. A stability test was also carried out by putting the materials to 500 oxidation-reduction cycles using cyclic voltammetry. The synthesis method allowed GO in PANI to be added through a chemical interaction between the two compounds. It was also found that the addition of GO led to an improvement in the hydrophilic character of the composite, which would lead to an improvement in the diffusion of reagents/species when the composites are used in aqueous media processes. The results of the stability test showed that the PG10 material presented a lower % loss of specific capacitance and energy compared with the other materials, which indicates that the GO presence (in the amount specified) improves the stability of the PANI. The PG10 material showed favorable and promising conditions for its use in fuel cell and battery processes.

Development of a sensitive electrochemical method to determine amitraz based on perylene tetracarboxylic acid/mesoporous carbon/Nafion@SPCEs

A cutting-edge electrochemical method is presented for precise quantification of amitraz (AMZ), a commonly used acaricide in veterinary medicine and agriculture. Leveraging a lab-made screen-printed carbon electrode modified with a synergistic blend of perylene tetracarboxylic acid (PTCA), mesoporous carbon (MC), and Nafion, the sensor's sensitivity was significantly improved. Fine-tuning of PTCA, MC, and Nafion ratios, alongside optimization of the pH of the supporting electrolyte and accumulation time, resulted in remarkable sensitivity enhancements. The sensor exhibited a linear response within the concentration range 0.01 to 0.70 μg mL-1, boasting an exceptionally low limit of detection of 0.002 μg mL-1 and a limit of quantification of 0.10 μg mL-1, surpassing maximum residue levels permitted in honey, tomato, and longan samples. Validation with real samples demonstrated high recoveries ranging from 80.8 to 104.8%, with a relative standard deviation below 10%, affirming the method's robustness and precision. The modified PTCA/MC/Nafion@SPCE-based electrochemical sensor not only offers superior sensitivity but also simplicity and cost-effectiveness, making it a pivotal tool for accurate AMZ detection in food samples. Furthermore, beyond the scope of this study, the sensor presents promising prospects for wider application across various electrochemical analytical fields, thereby significantly contributing to food safety and advancing agricultural practices.

Mechanochemical Synthesis of Polyanilines and Their Nanocomposites: A Critical Review

The mechanochemical synthesis of polyanilines (PANIs), made by oxidative polymerization of anilines, is reviewed. First, previous knowledge of the polymerization reaction in solution is discussed to understand the effect of different parameters: oxidant/monomer ratio, added acid, oxidant, temperature and water content on the properties of the conducting polymers (molecular weight, degradation, doping/oxidation level, conductivity, and nanostructure). The work on mechanochemical polymerization (MCP) of anilines is analyzed in view of previous data in solution, and published data are critically reconsidered to clarify the interpretation of experimental results. A key factor is the production of acids during polymerization, which is often overlooked. The production of gaseous HCl during MCP of aniline hydrochloride is experimentally observed. Since some experiments involves the addition of small amounts of water, the kinetics and heat balance of the reaction with concentrated solutions were simulated. A simple experiment shows fast (<2 min) heating of the reaction mixture to the boiling point of water and temperature increments are observed during MCP in a mortar. The form and sizes of PANI nanostructures made by MCP or solution are compared. The extensive work on the production of nanocomposites by MCP of anilines together with different nanomaterials (porous clays, graphene, carbon nanotubes, metal, and oxide nanoparticles) is also described.

Chemical and Electronic Structure Characterization of Electrochemically Deposited Nickel Tetraamino-phthalocyanine: A Step toward More Efficient Deposition Techniques for Organic Electronics Application

Phthalocyanines (Pc), with or without metal ligands, are still of high research interest, mainly for the application in organic electronics. Because of rather low solubility, Pc-based films are commonly deposited applying various advanced and demanding vacuum techniques, like physical vapor deposition (PVD). In this work, an alternative straightforward approach of NiPc layer formation is proposed in which NH₂-side groups of nickel(II) tetraamino-phthalocyanine (AmNiPc) are engaged in the process of electrochemical deposition of (AmNiPc)_layer on indium-tin oxide (ITO) substrates. The resulting layer is widely investigated by cyclic voltammetry, atomic force microscopy, UV-vis, and ATR-IR spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction, and photoemission techniques: X-ray and UV-photoelectron spectroscopies. The chemical and electronic structure of (AmNiPc)_layer is characterized. It is shown that the electronic properties of the formed (AmNiPc)_layer/ITO hybrid correspond to the ones previously reported for PVD-NiPc films.

Multimodal cell with simultaneous electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance and in operando spectroscopic ellipsometry to understand thin film electrochemistry

To inform the development of advanced electrodes for energy storage, water treatment, and catalysis, among other applications, we need to improve our understanding of how material structure evolves during electrochemical operation. Insight into the evolution of local atomic structure during electrochemical operation is accessible through a range of sophisticated in operando probes, but techniques for in operando observation of macroscale electrode phenomena (e.g., swelling, dissolution, and chemical degradation) are limited. This macroscale understanding is critical to establish a full picture of electrochemical material behavior. Here, we report a multimodal cell for simultaneous electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) and in operando spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). This SE-EQCM cell allows for the measurement of mass, thickness, optical properties, and electrochemical properties together in one device. Using polyaniline (PANI) as a test case, we demonstrate the use of this SE-EQCM cell to rapidly measure known phenomena and reproduce a range of prior results during the electrodeposition, electrochemical cycling, and electrochemical degradation of PANI. In particular, the simultaneous mass and thickness measurement afforded by this cell allows us to distinguish known qualitative differences in the degradation of PANI under oxidative and reductive potentials. The SE-EQCM cell we report promises to reveal new insights into the electrochemical behavior of thin film materials for a range of applications.

Polyaniline-Derived N-Doped Ordered Mesoporous Carbon Thin Films: Efficient Catalysts towards Oxygen Reduction Reaction

One of the most challenging targets in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts based on N-doped carbon materials is the control of the pore structure and obtaining nanostructured thin films that can easily be incorporated on the current collector. The carbonization of nitrogen-containing polymers and the heat treatment of a mixture of carbon materials and nitrogen precursor are the most common methods for obtaining N-doped carbon materials. However, in this synthetic protocols, the surface area and pore distribution are not controlled. This work enables the preparation of 2D-ordered N-doped carbon materials through the carbonization of 2D polyaniline. For that purpose, aniline has been electropolymerized within the porous structure of two different templates (ordered mesoporous Silica and ordered mesoporous Titania thin films). Thus, aniline has been impregnated into the porous structure and subsequently electropolymerized by means of chronoamperometry at constant potential. The resultant samples were heat-treated at 900 °C with the aim of obtaining 2D N-doped carbon materials within the template structures. Polyaniline and polyaniline-derived carbon materials have been analyzed via XPS and TEM and characterized by electrochemical measurements. It is worth noting that the obtained 2D-ordered mesoporous N-doped carbon materials have proved to be highly active electrocatalysts for the ORR because of the formation of quaternary nitrogen species during the heat treatment.

Recognizing conductive islands in polymeric redox surfaces using electrochemical-coupled vibrational spectromicroscopy

We introduce a set up by coupling multiplex FTIR microscopy to electrochemistry through a home-made spectroelectrochemical cell to observe real time changes in the electronic states of polymeric islands by monitoring the oxidation states of polyaniline (PANI). The resultant technique, called electrochemical-coupled vibrational spectromicroscopy (EVSM), enables the measurement of structural changes in the conductive islands of PANI with the spatial resolution as high as 2.5 μm. Unique 2D and 3D chemical maps obtained by the integration of the spectral bands in the subtractively normalized interfacial infrared (SNIFTIR) spectra reveal electrochemical heterogeneity, showing promising topological properties control for conducting polymer-based electronic devices.

Self-Reducible Conjugated Microporous Polyaniline for Long-Term Selective Cr(VI) Detoxication Driven by Tunable Pore Dimension

A simple methodology to controllably tune the pore size and Cr(VI) adsorption capacity was reported herein to synthesize a new series of conjugated microporous polyaniline (CMPA) networks. The well-ordered micropore was acquired through our very recent Bristol-Xi'an Jiaotong method, and the pore size was fine-tuned to increase with the increasing length of linkers, mimicking covalent organic frameworks and metal organic frameworks very much. A selective ultrahigh adsorption capacity of 520.8 mg/g was achieved by CMPA-1 in a very fast manner, with a systematically gradual decrease to 173.9 mg/g of CMPA-3 by enlarging the pore size of the networks, featuring tunable adsorption capacity through molecular-size-recognition mechanism. Additionally, our robust CMPA networks, which were constructed by Buchwald-Hartwig chemistry, showed the complete function of polyaniline and were capable of providing, besides large storage capacity for Cr(III), at least 10 reductant/desorption-free cycles for effective Cr(VI) reduction and detoxication through their novel self-reducible redox states. Outcomes showed that our CMPAs could be applied as new self-healing scavengers in the next generation for Cr(VI) storage and detoxication.

Enhanced thermal stability, hydrophobicity, UV radiation resistance, and antibacterial properties of wool fabric treated with p-aminobenzenesulphonic acid

Wool fibre is a popular fibre for the manufacture of apparel and floor coverings, but it does not have adequate thermal stability, antistatic, UV resistance, and antibacterial properties that are required for some applications, such as outerwear and hospital gowns. In this work, a wool fabric was treated with para-aminobenzenesulphonic acid (ABSA) by the oxidative polymerisation method and its effect on the thermal stability, UV radiation resistance, electrical conductivity and antibacterial properties of the treated fabric was systematically evaluated. It was found that the ABSA treatment had synergistic effects on the various functional properties of the treated fabric. The ABSA treatment not only made the fabric antibacterial but also enhanced its UV radiation absorption capability, surface hydrophobicity, electro-conductivity, tensile strength, and thermal stability. The maximum degradation temperature of the wool fibre increased from 339.5 °C to 349.6 °C and the UV-B transmission through the fabric at 290 nm reduced to 1.5%. The surface hydrophobicity of the treated fabric samples also improved as the surface contact angle of the fabric increased from 119.5° for the untreated to 131.7° for the fabric treated with 4% ABSA. The surface electrical resistance decreased from 1200 × 10⁹ to 484 × 10⁹ Ohm cm⁻¹, and the treated fabric also showed excellent antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The developed treatment could be used in the textile industry as an energy-efficient process for the multi-functionalisation of wool and other polyamide fibres.

The treatment with para-aminobenzenesulphonic acid produced a multifunctional wool fabric with enhanced hydrophobicity, thermal stability, UV resistance, and antibacterial properties.

Feeling the power: robust supercapacitors from nanostructured conductive polymers fostered with Mn2+ and carbon dots

Polyaniline (PANI) is considered one of the most preferred electrically conductive polymers (CPs), which is widely studied as an electrode material in designing next-generation energy storage devices due to their chemical stability, fast redox reactions between the polymer and the electrolytes, high electrical conductivity, excellent electrochemical performance, and low cost. However, the inferior stability of PANI limits its application. In this work, the benefit of carbon dots (CDots) as light-weight and spherical carbon-based electrodes and fillers that allow the maintenance of the nanostructure of PANI while easing the ionic transport was studied together with the effect of manganese(ii) (Mn²⁺) doping on the overall capacitive properties of PANI. The integration of N-doped spherical, nanosized carbon dots (N-CDots) in the copolymerization of nanostructured PANI in the presence of varying concentrations of Mn²⁺ as a dopant synergistically improved the overall conductivity and specific surface area of the PANI-based electrode and showed surface double layer ion exchange. Pseudocapacitance mechanisms were observed when the dopant concentration was kept at a molar percentage of Mn²⁺ to aniline of 1, which displayed exceptionally high specific capacitances of up to 595 F g^-1. The asymmetric supercapacitor devices made with N-CDot and nanostructured hybrid electrodes could reveal the great potential in the development of cheap yet efficient battery-sized supercapacitor devices. In addition to extensive electrochemical performance, advanced EPR spectroscopy revealed detailed information regarding the defect structures of electrode materials in terms of understanding the conduction behavior of defect centers.

Spectral Screening of the Energy of Hot Holes over a Particle Plasmon Resonance

Plasmonic hot carriers have been recently identified as key elements for photocatalysis at visible wavelengths. The possibility to transfer energy between metal plasmonic nanoparticles and nearby molecules depends not only on carrier generation and collection efficiencies but also on their energy at the metal-molecule interface. Here an energy screening study was performed by monitoring the aniline electro-polymerization reaction via an illuminated 80 nm gold nanoparticle. Our results show that plasmon excitation reduces the energy required to start the polymerization reaction as much as 0.24 eV. Three possible photocatalytic mechanisms were explored: the enhanced near field of the illuminated particle, the temperature increase at the metal-liquid interface, and the excited electron-hole pairs. This last phenomenon is found to be the one contributing most prominently to the observed energy reduction.

Enhanced Supercapacitor Performance Based on CoAl Layered Double Hydroxide-Polyaniline Hybrid Electrodes Manufactured Using Hydrothermal-Electrodeposition Technology

Electrodes with nanosheet architectures can offer the possibility to achieve enhanced energy storage performance. Herein, we have designed and synthesized novel nanosheet structures of CoAl layered double hydroxide (LDH)-polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposite thin films by a hydrothermal-electrodeposition method. The molecular structure, crystal structure, morphology and chemical composition of the composites were characterized by FT-IR, XRD (SXRD), FESEM, and XPS, whereas their electrochemical properties were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. Compared with the unmodified CoAl LDH, the CoAl LDH-PANI exhibits significantly improved the specific capacitance and cyclic stability. The composite exhibits a high specific capacitance of 528 F/g at a current density of 10 A/g and excellent cyclic stability with an increase of the specific capacitance of 42.7% after 6000 cycle tests. We revealed the degradation behavior of PANI in 1 M KOH/KCl electrolyte, and the active degradation products also further increased the total specific capacitance of the composite. The enhanced electrochemical performance of the nanocomposite can be attributed to its well-designed nanostructure and the synergistic effects of each component. By analyzing the band structure and density of states of CoAl LDH and PANI, we proposed the possible mechanism of synergistic effect in a new perspective.

Electroactive polyaniline/silica hybrid gels: Controllable sol-gel transition adjusted by chitosan derivatives

In this study, the electroactive hybrid gels with controllable sol-gel process were fabricated based on the water soluble polyaniline complex and water soluble silica precursor. β-cyclodextrin grafted on chitosan (CSCD) acted as a template, a new route for the synthesis of water soluble polyaniline complex (PA@CSCD) was designed by in-situ polymerization. Then, the hybrid silica gels without severe shrinkage were prepared by mixing PA@CSCD complex with water soluble precursor (tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)orthosilicates, THEOS). By dynamic rheological measurements, it was found that PA@CSCD complex could trigger and accelerate the sol-gel transition of the silica precursor. The gelation time could be largely shortened with the increase of PA@CSCD complex amount. By SEM observation, the PA@CSCD complex could be well compatible with the silica matrix. Moreover, the hybrid gels showed the good redox electroactivity, which could be successfully applied in a HRP-based biosensor.

The effect of anions on the electrochemical properties of polyaniline for supercapacitors

To investigate the effect of anions on the electrochemical properties of polyaniline (PANI) for supercapacitors, electrochemical performance tests of PANI with different dopant anions were carried out in the corresponding acid solutions by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) methods. In particular, ionic fluxes and solvent molecules involved in redox processes can be analyzed by the electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) technique and discriminated by simultaneously recording cyclic voltammograms and mass changes during redox switching. The emeraldine base (EB) form of PANI prepared in a protonic acid with bigger anions can be easily doped by a protonic acid with smaller anions, and conversely, PANI-EB is hard to be doped. The anodic reversal potential of potentiodynamic cycling heavily influences the electrochemical stability of PANI. High anodic potentials result in PANI degradation. Its supercapacitive properties including specific capacitance, power density and cycling stability are strongly dependent upon the type of dopant anion. PANI with the dopant anions of oxalic acid has the highest specific capacitance and the best cycling stability among the used acids. The diffusion coefficient of anions plays a key role in determining power density. PANI films with organic dopant anions exhibit better cycling stability than their inorganic counterparts. It is believed that the hydrolysis of PANI facilitated by the additional water molecules accompanied by dopant anions into and out of the PANI matrix is a key factor responsible for the cycling instability.

Enzymatic oligomerization and polymerization of arylamines: state of the art and perspectives

The literature concerning the oxidative oligomerization and polymerization of various arylamines, e.g., aniline, substituted anilines, aminonaphthalene and its derivatives, catalyzed by oxidoreductases, such as laccases and peroxidases, in aqueous, organic, and mixed aqueous organic monophasic or biphasic media, is reviewed. An overview of template-free as well as template-assisted enzymatic syntheses of oligomers and polymers of arylamines is given. Special attention is paid to mechanistic aspects of these biocatalytic processes. Because of the nontoxicity of oxidoreductases and their high catalytic efficiency, as well as high selectivity of enzymatic oligomerizations/polymerizations under mild conditions-using mainly water as a solvent and often resulting in minimal byproduct formation-enzymatic oligomerizations and polymerizations of arylamines are environmentally friendly and significantly contribute to a "green" chemistry of conducting and redox-active oligomers and polymers. Current and potential future applications of enzymatic polymerization processes and enzymatically synthesized oligo/polyarylamines are discussed.

Electrochromic properties of polyaniline-coated fiber webs for tissue engineering applications

By combining the electrospinning method advantages (high surface-to-volume ratio, controlled morphology, varied composition and flexibility for the resulting structures) with the electrical activity of polyaniline, a new core-shell-type material with potential applications in the field of artificial muscles was synthesized. Thus, a poly(methylmethacrylate) solution was electrospun in optimized conditions to obtain randomly oriented polymer fiber webs. Further, a gold layer was sputtered on their surface in order to make them conductive and improve the mechanical properties. The metalized fiber webs were then covered with a PANI layer by in situ electrochemical polymerization starting from aniline and using sulphuric acid as oxidizing agent. By applying a small voltage on PANI-coated fiber webs in the presence of an electrolyte, the oxidation state of PANI changes, which is followed by the device color modification. The morphological, electrical and biological properties of the resulting multilayered material were also investigated.

In Situ Infrared Spectroscopy of Oligoaniline Intermediates Created under Alkaline Conditions

The progress of the oxidation of aniline with ammonium peroxydisulfate in an alkaline aqueous medium has been monitored in situ by attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The growth of the microspheres and of the film at the ATR crystal surface, as well as the changes proceeding in the surrounding aqueous medium, are reflected in the spectra. The evolution of the spectra and the changes in the molecular structure occurring during aniline oxidation in alkaline medium are discussed with the help of differential spectra. Several processes connected with the various stages of aniline oxidation were distinguished. The progress of hydrolysis of the aniline in water and further an oxidation of aminophenol to benzoquinone imines in the presence of peroxydisulfate in alkaline medium have been detected in the spectra in real time. The precipitated solid oxidation product was analyzed by mass spectrometry. It is composed of oligomers, mainly trimers to octamers, of various molecular structures incorporating in addition to aniline constitutional units also p-benzoquinone or p-benzoquinoneimine moieties.

Smart polyaniline nanoparticles with thermal and photothermal sensitivity

Conductive polyaniline nanoparticles (PANI NPs) are synthesized by oxidation of aniline with persulfate in acid media, in the presence of polymeric stabilizers: polyvinilpyrrolidone (PVP), poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), and hydroxylpropylcellulose (HPC). It is observed that the size of the nanoparticles obtained depends on the polymeric stabilizer used, suggesting a mechanism where the aggregation of polyaniline molecules is arrested by adsorption of the polymeric stabilizer. Indeed, polymerization in the presence of a mixture of two polymers having different stabilizing capacity (PVP and PNIPAM) allows tuning of the size of the nanoparticles. Stabilization with biocompatible PVP, HPC and PNIPAM allows use of the nanoparticle dispersions in biological applications. The nanoparticles stabilized by thermosensitive polymers (PNIPAM and HPC) aggregate when the temperature exceeds the phase transition (coil to globule) temperature of each stabilizer (Tpt = 32 °C for PNIPAM or Tpt = 42 °C for HPC). This result suggests that an extended coil form of the polymeric stabilizer is necessary to avoid aggregation. The dispersions are reversibly restored when the temperature is lowered below Tpt. In that way, the effect could be used to separate the nanoparticles from soluble contaminants. On the other hand, the PANI NPs stabilized with PVP are unaffected by the temperature change. UV-visible spectroscopy measurements show that the nanoparticle dispersion changes their spectra with the pH of the external solution, suggesting that small molecules can easily penetrate the stabilizer shell. Near infrared radiation is absorbed by PANI NPs causing an increase of their temperature which induces the collapse of the thermosensitive polymer shell and aggregation of the NPs. The effect reveals that it is possible to locally heat the nanoparticles, a phenomenon that can be used to destroy tumor cells in cancer therapy or to dissolve protein aggregates of neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer). Moreover, the long range control of aggregation can be used to modulate the nanoparticle residence inside biological tissues.