Electrochemical formation of Au clusters in polyaniline

The reduction of chloroaurate and the incorporation of Au clusters in polyaniline, PANI, films have been investigated. The chloroaurate complex is generated at the electrode surface during Cl- doping of Au/PANI. FTIR and UV/vis data indicate that chloroaurate interacts with PANI and that its reduction to metallic Au occurs preferentially at the nitrogen linkages. The voltammetric and XPS results show that the uptake of both protons and anions is suppressed by the formation of Au clusters due to this interaction. The ability to reduce chloroaurate in PANI films is also demonstrated for Pt electrodes coated with PANI in solutions containing KAuCl4. The preliminary results indicate that Au cluster size distribution remains fairly constant regardless of the method used.