Functional and processable poly-n-phenyl aniline derivatives and its copolymers: synthesis and applications.

Abstract

Polyaniline and their derivative are highly demanded conjugated polymers in opto-electronic, biomedical, and physico-chemico-mechanical fields due to their peculiar properties. In this work, poly-N-phenyl aniline derivatives were synthesized and their optical properties and some of their applications were studied. Fluorescent and colorimetric sensors based on poly-N-phenyl aniline derivatives working in water media were also developed. The main objectives of our work are as follows: - (1) synthesis, characterization, and applications of poly-N-phenyl anthranilic acid, (2) synthesis, characterization, and applications of poly-N-phenyl-o-phenylenediamine, (3) synthesis, characterization, and applications of poly-o-phenylenediamine, and (4) synthesis, characterization, and applications of copolymers of N-phenyl anthranilic acid and o-phenylenediamine. Synthesis of poly-N-phenyl anthranilic acid, poly-N- phenyl-o-phenylenediamine, and poly-o-phenylenediamine was carried out with chemical oxidative polymerizations using FeCl 3 as oxidizing agent in ethanol medium. Copolymers of N-phenyl anthranilic acid and o-phenylenediamine was also synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization using FeCl 3 as oxidizing agent in ethanol medium and their properties were compared with physical blends of homopolymers. General characterizations of polymers with proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, powder x-ray diffractometry, and MALDI-TOF analysis were carried out. Thermal stability studies were done using thermogravimetry. Morphological studies of homopolymers, copolymer, and physical blend were carried out using field emission scanning electron microscopy. Fluorescence properties of poly-N-phenyl anthranilic acid and poly-o- phenylenediamine were studied and the relationship between electrochemical redox states in polymer and fluorescence behavior were established. Fluorescent sensors for oxidizing analytes were developed using poly-N-phenyl anthranilic acid, poly-o- phenylenediamine, and their copolymer. A colorimetric acid content sensor useful for state of charge determination in lead-acid batteries was developed based on poly-N- phenyl-o-phenylenediamine. The fluorescent turn-off in poly-N-phenyl anthranilic acid and N-phenyl anthranilic acid with oxidizing agents were utilized for the quantitative estimations using microscale redox titrations with fluorometricindication. The studies on invisible dye like characteristics and cell imaging promised poly-N-phenyl anthranilic acid as an efficient material in anti-counterfeiting and biological fields.