The chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline in water: Raman spectroscopy

The structural changes of aniline oligomers and polyaniline, associated with oxidation of aniline with ammonium peroxydisulfate in aqueous solutions without any added acid, were studied. The reaction was quenched at various times and the films deposited on silicon windows have been studied in detail by Raman spectroscopy, at excitation wavelengths 633 and 514 nm. The presence of substituted phenazine structural units, in addition to ordinary benzenoid, quinonoid, and semiquinonoid structures, has been proved by the appearance of characteristic Raman bands at 1645–1630, 1420–1400, 1380–1365, ∼575, and ∼415 cm⁻¹. The remarkable differences of the Raman spectra of oligoanilines, precipitated in the first phase of oxidative polymerization, and polyaniline nanotubes and nanorods, formed in the second stage of reaction, are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.