Effect of Aspergillus niger Tiegh. L-10 on the physical and chemical properties of a polyaniline coating in the growth substrate

The influence of the growth of Aspergillus niger Tiegh. fungi on the morphological, chemical and electrochemical properties of the polyaniline (PANI) modified Ni surface has been investigated. The strain of Aspergillus niger Tiegh. L-10 was cultivated on the malt extract agar (DIFCO OXOID). A PANI film was synthesized by potentiodynamic polymerization in an aqueous 0.3 M H2C2O4 solution containing 0.1 M aniline on the Ni electrode. The electrochemical behaviour of polymer films was determined in a 0.05 M H2SO4 solution by the cyclic voltammetry method. The composition of PANI and Aspergillus niger Tiegh. treated PANI surfaces have been characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The morphology has been studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The attachment of a polymer film via the metabolic product resulted in oxidation of the surface. It was estimated that at the PANI/microorganism interface, a Ca-complexed carboxylate interfacial reaction product was formed. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.