Electrochemical synthesis of polyaniline from aniline/cyclodextrin solutions

The influence of cyclodextrin on the electrochemical deposition of polyaniline from neutral perchloric solutions was determined. The oxidation of aniline and the polymer growth were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical quartz crystal micro-balance in the presence of either β-cyclodextrin or sulfated β-cyclodextrin. The obtained results show the significant impact of the cyclodextrins on polyaniline growth rate, morphology and electrochemical properties of the resulting layers. The different effect was obtained in the presence of β-cyclodextrin compared to sulfated β-cyclodextrin. The incorporation of β-cyclodextrin in the polyaniline layer results in “comb like formations” within the layer while the incorporation of sulfated β-cyclodextrin in the polyaniline layer leads to more irregular morphologies and to the layers with the increased ohmic resistance.