Native and structurally modified gum arabic: Exploring the effect of the gum's microstructure in obtaining electroactive nanoparticles

• Native and modified gum arabic interact differently with polyaniline.
• Native gum arabic is a better polyaniline stabilizer than less branched gum.
• Degree of branching and molecular mass are the key factors for gum arabic functionality.

Electroactive nanoparticles combining gum arabic (GA) and polyaniline (PANI) were prepared by chemical synthesis. The gum consists of highly branched anionic polysaccharides with some protein content. GA was structurally modified by Smith controlled degradation, in order to reduce its degree of branching (GAD), aiming the elucidation of the relationship between the structure and the properties of complex polysaccharides. The modification was studied by SEC, GC–MS, 13C NMR and colorimetric methods. GAD has lower molecular mass, lower degree of branching and lower uronic acid content. Besides it is enriched in galactose and protein when compared with GA. The obtained composites (GA-PANI and GAD-PANI) were thoroughly characterized. Although the use of both polysaccharides (GA and GAD) produced highly stable electroactive nanoparticles, the best combination of properties was achieved for GA-PANI. The sample GAD was not able to prevent the occurrence of crosslinking between PANI chains, possibly due to its lower microstructural complexity which diminishes the occurrence of hydrogen bonds between the polymers.