Enzymatic Synthesis of Semiconductor Polymers by Chloroperoxidase of Caldariomyces fumago

Among intrinsically conducting polymers, polyaniline is traditionally synthesized by chemical or electrochemical methods. Recently enzymatic synthesis of conducting polymers has been explored. In this work, polymers were synthesized using chloroperoxidase from Caldariomyces fumago and substituted anilines such as 2,6-dimethylaniline, 2,6-dichloroaniline, and 2,3,5,6-tetrachloroaniline (TCA), in order to promote a linear polymerization. These polymers were doped with (1S)-(+)-10-camphorsulfonic acid, dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid, and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPSA) with molar ratios of 1:0.25 and 1:0.5. Doped polymers showed conductivity corresponding to the semiconductors. TCA polymer doped with AMPSA showed the higher conductivity values. Different AMPSA concentrations have been tested, and the highest conductivity value of 1.6x10(-2)S.m(-1) was obtained for the complex with molar ratio of 1: 0.5. This value is similar to those found with other substituted anilines with sulfonic groups. In addition, the enzymatically synthesized polymeric film showed combined transparency and semiconducting properties.