Self-doped polymers postpolymerization

Structural modifications of polyaniline have mainly been exploited to achieve improved processability and environmental stability. In general, the substituted polyanilines can be obtained via oxidative polymerization of the corresponding monomer. However, inductive and steric effects can make such monomers difficult to polymerize [42]. Several substituted polyanilines have been prepared by varying the nature (alkyl, alkoxy, halogen, etc.) and the position (2- vs 3-, 5-positions) of the substituent [24, 27-32, 34, 37, 43, 44]. These studies have shown that regardless of the nature and position of the substituent group, there is an adverse effect on polymerization and the properties of the polymer such as conductivity and electroactivity. To overcome these limitations, various synthetic methods have been developed to prepare self-doped sulfonated polyanilines. These methods involve controlled postpolymerization modifications by synthetic reactions on the whole polymer and copolymerization of less reactive monomers with aniline as described below. 

A new class of water soluble polypyrrole has been prepared by selfdoping of the polymer. These self-doped polypyrroles can be prepared electrochemically or chemically, using various dopant anions covalently bound to the polymer backbone. The self-doped sulfonated polypyrrole is most commonly synthesized electrochemically in nonaqueous media. Electrochemical synthesis in aqueous media and chemical synthesis are not typically used, presumably due to issues with overoxidation. The postpolymerization modification of polypyrrole, in a manner similar to that used to form sulfonated polyaniline is rare [41]. The various synthetic approaches and properties of the polymer are discussed in the following sections. 

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