Electrochemical copolymerization of diphenylamine with aniline by a pulse potentiostatic method

Electrochemical copolymerization of diphenylamine (DPA) with aniline (ANI) has been carried out in aqueous sulfuric acid medium using a pulse potentiostic method (PPSM). The polymeric films were electrodeposited by employing different tunable parameters like pulse width (P-w), pulse number (P-n) etc., and the films deposited by PPSM were studied by cyclic voltammetry to identify their electrochemical characteristics and growth behavior. A growth equation for copolymer deposition relating the parameters of operation and charge associated for film deposition was obtained: Q(a) (mC/ms) = 1.05 X 10(-7) [DPA][ANI](-1/2). The surface parameters of these films were evaluated. The copolymer was also characterized through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectroscopic analysis. The cyclic voltammograms of the chemically synthesized and electrodeposited copolymer films were obtained. (C) 2000 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.