H.V. Rasika Dias and Ronald Elsenbaumer, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, are supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program for developing new methods for the preparation of a commercially important electrically conductive polymer, polyaniline. They are studying new catalyst systems that will polymerize aniline under conditions that are milder, cheaper and more environmentally friendly. The tunability of the catalyst system allows better control over the polymerization and may allow incorporation of other co-monomers and better processability of the polyaniline. The key to this family of catalysts is the highly fluorinated ligands such as [HB(3,5-(CF3)2Pz)3]-. Copper complexes of these nitrogen-based, fluorinated ligands can bind and activate oxygen without undesirable side-reactions between the ligand and oxygen.
Polyaniline is a conducting polymer with good stability and important optical, electrical and electrochemical properties. Polyaniline is currently used in electrochromic displays, rechargeable batteries, microelectronics, antistatic materials, sensors and anti-corrosion coatings. The current industrial synthesis of polyaniline is expensive and produces a great deal of undesirable waste products. This new catalyst family may provide a "green synthesis" for polyaniline that uses air or oxygen as the oxidant and produces only water as a by-product. Students working on this interdisciplinary project will gain skills in catalyst synthesis and polymer synthesis and characterization.
