Synthesis and Analysis of Polyaniline Properties with Various Counterions for Silver Recovery from Technological Solutions after Silicon PV Cells Leaching

In the presented work a one-step synthesis of polyaniline using four different organic acids and a hydrochloric acid solution was described. Polyaniline is a conductive polymer, so can be used for hydrometallurgical recovery of silver ions. Possible applications of the PAni/Ag composite were analysied. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis were carried out to evaluate the composition and structure of the synthesized materials. In addition, pH and specific conductivity were measured. The obtained spectra confirmed the presence of key functional groups, bonds and energy transitions for the analyzed substances. The specific conductivity values for all samples confirmed the ability of the materials to conduct electricity. The use of five different acids at the polymerization stage resulted in slightly different structures between the materials. The materials were placed in a solution of AgNO3 to investigate the possibility of silver ions recovery on the polymer structure. The samples were subjected to X-ray spectroscopy and tested on the scanning electron microscope with Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, which made it possible to analyze the structure of the polymer and check for the presence of silver. In the future, the samples can be used for hydrometallurgical recovery of silver, and it will be examined how different counter-ions affect the efficiency of such a process and the final percentage of metal obtained.