A new self-doped copolymer consisting of 3-methyl thiophene and aniline units

The copolymer films of sulfonated aniline and sulfonated 3-methyl thiophene were synthesized by electrochemical polymerization. The sulfonated copolymer films have better solubility in DMSO and KOH than the corresponding homopolymers. The conductivity of the copolymer films increase with the increase in the number of thiophene rings in the polymeric backbone. Copolymer films synthesized were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, UV-visible and FT-IR spectroscopy, dry conductivity and intrinsic viscosity measurements and elemental analysis. The elemental analysis and UV-visible spectroscopic results show that copolymer films have properties intermediate between the two homopolymers.