Enhanced conductivity of polyaniline by conjugated crosslinking.

A novel crosslinked conductive polyaniline (PANI) was prepared by chemically copolymerizing aniline (An) and p-phenylenediamine (PPDA) with triphenylamine (TPA) as crosslinker, using ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) as an oxidant. The effects of different preparation conditions on the electrical conductivity of polymers were systematically investigated by adjusting acid kinds, concentration, the ratio of APS/An, the mounts of TPA and PPDA. The crosslinked PANI displayed a conductivity increase of up to 25% compared with the linear one. Their structures were characterized by Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the electrical conductivity was also tested by a typical four-point probe (RTS-8) technique.