Solubilization of polyaniline in water by interpolymer complexation

Water solubility of electro-active polymers in their doped state may provide a possibility for environmentally feasible manufacturing processes. Because previous results in this direction require expensive modifications or impractical template polymerization methods, we created a simple method of mixing components with a large molecular weight difference. The polymer which acts as an acidic dopant and provides water solubility, has to have the higher molecular weight. The formed complex resembles a block copolymer but in this case the polyaniline block is attached to the sulfonated polystyrene chain by strong physical interactions instead of chemical end-to-end linkage.