The electrochemical response of polyaniline (PANI) in its undoped
intermediate (emeraldine
base, EB) oxidation state coated on cold rolled steel (CRS) or glass
substrate has been
evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The oxidation
state of the polymer
was determined from the ratio of amine vs imine nitrogen chemical
states observed in the
N(1s) photoelectron spectrum. A room-temperature air-dried PANI
coating cast from NMP
solution onto CRS was found to be reduced relative to its
as-synthesized, air-stable state.
Heating the PANI coated on CRS in the absence of air (165 °C, in
ultrahigh vacuum) produced
an even deeper reduction, resulting from the transfer of electronic
charge to the polymer
from the metal substrate. Subsequent brief exposure of this
reduced PANI coating to air at
elevated temperature (165 °C) reoxidized the PANI to the EB state.
Analogous treatment
of a PANI coating on glass caused no such change in the oxidation state
of the polymer.
Unlike steel, which provides a redox couple with PANI, glass is
electroinactive. These
findings are consistent with the hypothesis that PANI-EB can catalyze
or otherwise enable
passivation of steel surfaces, through electrochemical interaction with
steel substrate. Neat
PANI-EB heated to 200 °C under N2 within an FTIR diffuse
reflectance cell demonstrated
loss of interchain H-bonding, presumably leading to softening. The
FTIR spectrum of PANI-EB which had been exposed to air at 200 °C gave no indication of
polymer oxidation.
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