Conductive cotton prepared by polyaniline in situ polymerization using laccase.

The high-redox-potential catalyst laccase, isolated from Aspergillus, was first used as a biocatalyst in the oxidative polymerization of water-soluble conductive polyaniline, and then conductive cotton was prepared by in situ polymerization under the same conditions. The polymerization of aniline was performed in a water dispersion of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) micellar solution with atmospheric oxygen serving as the oxidizing agent. This method is ecologically clean and permits a greater degree of control over the kinetics of the reaction. The conditions for polyaniline synthesis were optimized. Characterizations of the conducting polyaniline and cotton were carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, the fabric induction electrostatic tester, and the far-field EMC shielding effectiveness test fixture.