A new acid-processing route to polyaniline films which exhibit metallic conductivity and electrical transport strongly dependent upon intrachain molecular dynamics

Abstract

Conductive polyaniline (PANi) films have been prepared via a new route comprising 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulphonic acid (AMPSA) as both the protonating acid and the solvating group, and dichloroacetic acid (DCA) as a solvent. The AMPSA content was varied so that between 30 and 100% of the nitrogen sites on polyaniline could be protonated. The temperature dependence of the conductivity of the films was measured between 15 and 300 K. Above 75-115 K, depending upon the protonation level, a negative temperature coefficient was observed. At 240-260 K a new transition was observed, essentially independent of the protonation level, above which the negative temperature dependency becomes much stronger. The conductivity data were fitted using a simple model employed previously for films of polyaniline camphorsulphonate, and comparisons made between the two systems.