Synthesis and characterization of novel conductive star polymers containing PSS/PANI arms

Novel multistep procedures for preparing water-soluble, conducting star-shaped polyaniline/poly(styrenesulfonate) complex are presented. Star poly(styrenesulfonate) which serves as a template for generating the electroactive polymer complex was synthesized by sequential atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and Makowski's sulfonating method of styrene. The characterization by GPC and 1H-NMR showed that each polymeric arm of the star polyelectrolyte exhibited a well-defined chain length and a well-controlled charge fraction. The conducting polymer complex prepared by the polyelectrolyte-guided polymerization of aniline was highly stable in aqueous solution.