Synthesis and Characterization of Conducting Polyaniline Prepared by Laccase-Catalyzed Method in Sodium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate Micellar Solutions

Enzymatic polymerization of aniline was performed in micellar solutions of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS). High-redox-potential oxidase-laccase isolated from the fungi, Trametes hirsuta, was used as a catalyst in oxidative polymerization of aniline, the atmospheric oxygen serving as an oxidizing agent. It is shown that the laccase-catalyzed reaction of monomer polymerization is kinetically controllable and its mechanism is very distinctly different from that of chemical polymerization. The synthesized PANI/SDBS complexes were characterized using Fourier transform infrared and UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, termogravimetry, transmission electron microscopy, and electron diffraction. The antistatic properties of the prepared PANI/SDBS composite were also studied. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 928-934, 2009