Facile preparation and characterization of copolymer nanoparticles from pyrrole and aniline-2-sulfonic acid

Novel poly(pyrrole-co-aniline-2-sulfonic acid) (PPYAS) nanoparticles were prepared via chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole and aniline-2-sulfonic acid in different aqueous solutions without any external additives. The morphology, structure and electroconductivity of the HCl-doped particles were studied by changing the molar ratio of the oxidant and monomers, and the solvent for polymerization. It was found that the yield, mean diameter and electrical conductivity of the resulting particles varied strongly with the molar ratio of the components. The nanoparticles exhibit a minimum mean diameter of around 62 nm, and good self-stability because of the introduction of sulfo groups into the chains of the copolymer. The preparation affords yield of up to 85%, and the HCl-doped copolymer salts possess an electroconductivity between 0.68 and 0.2 S/cm, depending on the fraction of anilinesulfonic acid.