Polyaniline dispersion and method for making same

Claim 1

A method of making an aqueous dispersion of a conductive polymer, comprising reacting a solution of an oxidatively polymerizable aromatic amine selected from the group consisting of from aniline and substituted aniline having at least one substituent group selected from hydroxy, halogen, C 1 -C 4 alkyl and C 1 -C 4 alkyloxy and an oxidizing agent capable of and present in sufficient concentration to oxidatively polymerize said aromatic amine, in a 0.5 to 2.5 molar aqueous acid which functions as a doping agent to impart electrical conductivity to said conductivity polymer when subsequently formed, wherein 0.1 to 15 grams of said aromatic amine is present in said solution per 100 grams of said aqueous acid, and further present in said solution is an aromatic polyalkyleneoxide selected from the group consisting of a compound of the general formula I: ##STR12## wherein X is nitrogen or oxygen, Y is a polymer chain selected from polyethyleneoxide, polypropyleneoxide and copolymers of polyethyleneoxide and polypropyleneoxide, said polymer having about Z repeating units, n when X is an integer from 1 to 2, wherein n is 1 when X is oxygen and n is 2 when X is nitrogen, and the product of n times Z is from about 20 to about 250, and R is one or more substituent groups selected from hydrogen, hydroxy, halogen, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkyloxy, phenyl and amino; a compound of the general formula II: ##STR13## wherein Y and R are defined as for formula I, n is the integer 1 and R' is phenyl or naphthyl; wherein 0.1 to 10 grams of said aromatic polyalkylene oxide is present in said solution per gram of aromatic amine, said solution is maintained at a temperature of between -5° C. and 35° C. during oxidation of said aromatic amine to form said polymer.

Claim 2

A method of making an aqueous dispersion of a conductive polymer, comprising reacting a solution of an oxidatively polymerizable aromatic amine selected from the group consisting of from aniline and substituted aniline having at least one substituent group selected from hydroxy, halogen, C 1 -C 4 alkyl and C 1 -C 4 alkyloxy and an oxidizing agent capable of and present in sufficient concentration to oxidatively polymerize said aromatic amine, in a 0.5 to 2.5 molar aqueous acid which functions as a doping agent to impart electrical conductivity to said conductivity polymer when subsequently formed, wherein 0.1 to 15 grams of said aromatic amine is present in said solution per 100 grams of said aqueous acid, and further present in said solution is an aromatic polyalkyleneoxide selected from the group consisting of a compound of the general formula I: ##STR12## wherein X is nitrogen or oxygen, Y is a polymer chain selected from polyethyleneoxide, polypropyleneoxide and copolymers of polyethyleneoxide and polypropyleneoxide, said polymer having about Z repeating units, n when X is an integer from 1 to 2, wherein n is 1 when X is oxygen and n is 2 when X is nitrogen, and the product of n times Z is from about 20 to about 250, and R is one or more substituent groups selected from hydrogen, hydroxy, halogen, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 1 -C 4 alkyloxy, phenyl and amino; a compound of the general formula II: ##STR13## wherein Y and R are defined as for formula I, n is the integer 1 and R' is phenyl or naphthyl; wherein 0.1 to 10 grams of said aromatic polyalkylene oxide is present in said solution per gram of aromatic amine, said solution is maintained at a temperature of between -5° C. and 35° C. during oxidation of said aromatic amine to form said polymer.