Synthesis of Poly(o-toluidine) in DMF/Water Mixture Using Benzoyl Peroxide

Abstract

The chemical polymerization of o-toluidine was carried out in dimethylformamide/aqueous HCl solution using benzoyl peroxide. The conductivity of poly(o-toluidine) (POT) doped with HCl changed from 2.0 × 10⁻⁴ to 15.6 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ depending on the polymerization parameters. The solubility of POT in DMSO was found as 0.3 g/100 mL, in which the solubility of HCl-doped polyaniline was 0.042 g/100 mL. Characterization of synthesized POT was performed by conductivity, solubility, FT-IR, UV-vis, and TGA techniques. Thermal-sensing property of POT was also investigated between −10° and +120°C by heating-cooling cycles.

Keywords:

• Benzoyl peroxide
• Chemical polymerization
• Conducting polymer
• Temperature sensing

The authors want to thank Ankara University Research Fund (BAP) for its financial support of this work.

Notes

[HCl], 1.0 mol L⁻¹; [Bz₂O₂], 7.5 × 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹; [o-toluidine], 0.1 mol L⁻¹; temperature, 40°C; polymerization time, 2 h.

[acid], 0.5 mol L⁻¹; [Bz₂O₂], 7.5 × 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹; [o-toluidine], 0.1 mol L⁻¹; DMF/water ratio, 30/70 (v/v); temperature, 40°C; polymerization time, 2 h.