POLY(1-VINYLIMIDAZOLE-CO-4-AMINOSTYRENE) - STERIC STABILIZER FOR POLYANILINE COLLOIDS

We report the preparation and characterization of polyaniline colloids using a new steric stabilizer based on poly(1-vinylimidazole). This stabilizer contains pendant aniline units which participate in the aniline polymerization, resulting in the formation of sterically stabilized polyaniline particles which have a non-spherical 'rice-grain' morphology. It is shown that this form of polyaniline is more processable than the bulk powder that is normally obtained from a conventional chemical synthesis. The solid-state conductivity of solution-cast films or compressed pellets of these dispersions is reasonably high (approximately 1 X 10(-2) S cm-1), despite the presence of the insulating outer layer of chemically grafted stabilizer. We have characterized these polyaniline colloids using various techniques including electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, visible absorption and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy.