Abstract

Poly(2-aminobenzoic acid) and poly(3-aminobenzoic acid) were synthesized by chemical polymerization of the respective monomers with aqueous 1M hydrochloric acid and 0.49M sodium hydroxide, using ammonium persulfate as an oxidizing agent. In addition, polymerization in an acid medium was carried out in the presence of metal ions, such as Cu(II), Ni(II), and Co(II). Poly(2-aminobenzoic acid-co-aniline) and poly(3-aminobenzoic acid-co-aniline) were synthesized by chemical copolymerization of aniline with 2- and 3-aminobenzoic acids, respectively, in aqueous 1M hydrochloric acid. The copolymers were synthesized at several mole fractions of aniline in the feed and characterized by UV-visible and FTIR spectroscopy, the thermal stability, and the electrical conductivity. Metal ions, such as Cu(II), Ni(II), and Co(II), were incorporated into homo- and copolymers by the batch method. The percentage of metal ions in the polymers was higher in the copolymers than in the homopolymers. The thermal stability of the copolymers increased as the feed mole fraction of aniline decreased and varied with the incorporation of metal ions in the polymers. The electrical conductivity of the homo- and copolymers was measured, which ranged between 10-3 and 10-10 S cm-1.