Conductivity and structure of DBSA-protonated polyaniline

The discovery of a processable and conducting polyaniline complexes including functionalized sulphonic acids is an important discovery in the field of conjugated polymers. The conductivity, electronic and crystalline structure properties of polyaniline protonated with dodecylbenzenesulphonic acid are proportional to the molar concentration of the acid. The protonation leads to a layer structure evident in X-ray diffraction patterns and the crystallinity follows a growth as a function of the acid concentration similar to the conductivity increase. The electronic structure measured by UV-VIS spectroscopy shows an increase in the polaron concentration up to an acid concentration of 0.35 after which a broadening of the peak indicates the formation of a polaron band.