Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Nanophase Hexagonal Poly(2,5‐dimethoxyaniline)

Novel nanophase hexagonal structured polyaniline (PANI) and poly(2,5‐dimethoxyanilines) (PDMA) were synthesized by oxidative polymerization involving the respective anilines and a mixture of ferric chloride and ammonium persulfate. The morphological, spectral and electrochemical characteristics of the polymers were determined from the results of SEM, FTIR, UV‐vis, TGA and cyclic voltammetry experiments. The hexagonal PANI and PDMA nanorods (15–200 nm diameter) exhibited very good thermal stabilities, losing only 10% of their weight on heating to 400 °C. Electrochemical data indicated a pernigraniline state of the polymers with formal potential, E°′, values of 394±6 mV and 400±1 mV, for PANI (conductance, C=0.37×10^?3 S) and PDMA (conductance, C=2.02×10^?3 S), respectively. The pernigraniline state was confirmed by sharp FTIR pernigraniline quinoidic peaks (PANI: 1414 cm^?1; PDMA: 1157 cm^?1), and UV‐vis absorption maxima at 340–370 nm (PANI) and 450–650 nm (PDMA) which are characteristic of charge transfer excitons of the quinoid structures of pernigraniline.