Elucidating the Effects of Stirring Time on Chemical and Electrochemical Properties of Polyaniline Salt Dispersion in Tetrahydrofuran

Polyaniline (PANi) salt was synthesized using the oxidative polymerization method with ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator. The dispersibility of the prepared samples in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at different stirring durations (30 minutes, 8 hours, and 24 hours) was studied by elucidating their chemical and electrical properties. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was employed to determine the composition of PANi salt, while electrical properties were studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy to calculate the absorbance and optical band-gap energy of the PANi salt dispersion. The results show that the best dispersibility of PANi salts occurs at 8 hours, as indicated by FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopy investigations that detect the highest absorption peaks characteristic of quinoid and benzenoid units, respectively. It was observed that dispersing PES in THF for 8 hours improves the bandgap of PANi from 3.10 eV to 2.41 eV. Thus, this study underlines the critical significance of stirring time in increasing PANi dispersibility and understanding its spectroscopic properties, providing insights for its practical use in various applications, including organic electronics, sensors, and actuators.