Polyaniline
(PANI) and 2,5-dianilino-
p
-benzoquinone
both are formed by oxidation of aniline in an acidic aqueous environment.
The aim of this study is to understand the impact of addition of
p
-benzoquinone on the structure of PANI prepared by the
oxidation of aniline hydrochloride with ammonium peroxydisulfate and
to elucidate the formation of low-molecular-weight byproducts. An
increasing yield and size-exclusion chromatography, Fourier-transform
infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and
nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of the products show that
p
-benzoquinone does not act as a terminating agent in the
synthesis of PANI and the content of 2,5-dianilino-
p
-benzoquinone increases with the increasing molar concentration of
p
-benzoquinone in the reaction mixture, [BzQ]. Regarding
the structure of PANI, Raman and UV–visible spectra show that
the doping level and the charge delocalization both decrease with
the increase of [BzQ], and the FTIR spectra of the PANI bases indicate
an increased concentration of benzenoid units at higher [BzQ]. We
explain these observations by an increasing concentration of structural
defects in PANI chains and propose a 2,5-dianilino-
p
-benzoquinone-like structure of these defects present as pendant
groups. The bands typical of 2,5-dianilino-
p
-benzoquinone-like
moiety are observed even in the vibrational spectra of the sample
prepared without addition of
p
-benzoquinone. This
confirms in situ oxidation of aniline to
p
-benzoquinone
within the course of the oxidation of aniline hydrochloride to PANI.