Synthesis of poly(aniline-co-5-aminosalicylic acid) and its properties

The copolymerization of aniline and 5-aminosalicylic acid (ASA) in H2SO4 solution was first carried out on a glassy carbon electrode using cyclic voltammetry. The spectra of IR and H-1 NMR demonstrated the presence of-OH group, -COOH group, and free radical in the polymer, indicating that the copolymerization of aniline and ASA took place under the electrolysis to form poly(aniline-co-5-aminosalicylic acid) (PAASA). The electric properties of PAASA are strongly dependent on the monomer concentration ratio in a reaction mixture and the upper switching potential used for the synthesis of the copolymer and the electrode materials. PAASA synthesized under the optimal conditions has a good redox activity from pH < 1 to pH 12.0; and in particular, only a 37.6% decay of the redox activity was observed after consecutive cycles from pH 4.0 to 12.0 based on cyclic voltammograms. The spectra of H-1 NMR revealed some unexpectedly magnetic properties of the deprotonated PAASA. This would be the primary cause why PAASA still holds a high redox activity at pH 12.0. The conductivity of PAASA is 0.58 S cm(-1) that is lower than that of polyaniline. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.