A novel catalytic route for the synthesis of a water-soluble and electrically conducting polypyrrole (PPy) in the presence of sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) is presented. Anionic water-soluble transition-metal tetrasulfonated porphyrins (TSPP) were used to catalyze the polymerization. The reactions were carried out with different monomer, catalyst, template and initiator concentrations and the optimum conditions are reported. Also various pH values ranging from 1 to 4 were investigated. The absorbance of the polaron bands at different pH values demonstrates that pH 2 is the best condition for polymerization. Precipitation or "salting out" phenomenon was highly dependent on the mentioned factors. The formation of PPy was confirmed by UV-vis and FT-IR spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) showed that the synthesized polymer has convenient electroactivity. Furthermore, the presence of SPS that serves as a charge-compensating dopant in this complex provides a unique combination of properties such as processability and water solubility.
Efficient Synthesis of Readily Water-Soluble Sulfonic Acid Carbamates