Soluble and electrically conductive polyaniline-modified polymers: Incorporation of biocompatible polymeric chains through ATRP technique

Abstract

This article describes the incorporation of biocompatible polymeric chains [poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)] into the polyaniline backbone through atom transfer radical polymerization technique to produce soluble and electrically conductive polyaniline-based materials. The chemical structures of all samples as representatives were characterized by means of Fourier transform-infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. The electroactivity behaviors and electrical conductivities of the synthesized samples were verified under cyclic voltammetric conditions, and the standard four-probe method, respectively. In addition, the thermal behaviors and morphologies of the synthesized samples were investigated by means of thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. We envision that the synthesized polyaniline-modified polymers may be find applications in biomedical fields such as tissue engineering, mainly due to their water solubilities, electrical conductivities, and biocompatibilities. (C) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.