Production of the Polyaniline/Silica Composite Gel by Using Cu²⁺ as a Catalyst

Abstract

Composite gels of polyaniline/silica were prepared by using the sol-gel process and Cu ²⁺ as a catalyst for polymerization of aniline. The polymerization reaction of aniline and the sol-gel process simultaneously proceeded. The absorption peaks appeared at 415 and 780 nm, showing the formation of the emeraldine salt type polyaniline. These peaks increased for 2 months. Because of the slow reaction rate, it was considerably easier to prepare the composite gels with uniform distributions of polyaniline. ESR and conductivity of the composite gels were also measured. Base on these findings, we will discuss the structure and reaction mechanism of polyaniline in silica gels.