A Greener, Controllable, Metal Mediated Route to Polyanilines

德克萨斯大学阿灵顿分校化学和生物化学系的H.V.Rasika Dias和Ronald Elsenbaumer得到了无机、生物无机和有机金属化学计划的支持，以开发制备具有重要商业价值的导电聚合物聚苯胺的新方法。他们正在研究新的催化剂系统，这些系统将在更温和、更便宜、更环保的条件下聚合苯胺。催化剂体系的可调性允许更好地控制聚合，并可能允许加入其他共聚单体和更好的聚苯胺的加工性。这一系列催化剂的关键是高氟化的配体，如[Hb(3，5-(CF3)2Pz)3]-。这些氮基、氟化配体的铜配合物可以结合和活化氧，而不会在配体和氧之间发生不良的副反应。聚苯胺是一种具有良好稳定性的导电聚合物，具有重要的光学、电学和电化学性质。聚苯胺目前用于电致变色显示器、充电电池、微电子、抗静电材料、传感器和防腐涂层。目前工业上合成的聚苯胺价格昂贵，而且会产生大量有害的废品。这一新的催化剂家族可能为聚苯胺提供一种“绿色合成”，它使用空气或氧气作为氧化剂，只产生水作为副产品。从事这一跨学科项目的学生将获得催化剂合成、聚合物合成和表征方面的技能。

H.V. Rasika Dias and Ronald Elsenbaumer, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas at Arlington, are supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program for developing new methods for the preparation of a commercially important electrically conductive polymer, polyaniline. They are studying new catalyst systems that will polymerize aniline under conditions that are milder, cheaper and more environmentally friendly. The tunability of the catalyst system allows better control over the polymerization and may allow incorporation of other co-monomers and better processability of the polyaniline. The key to this family of catalysts is the highly fluorinated ligands such as[HB(3,5-(CF3)2Pz)3]-. Copper complexes of these nitrogen-based, fluorinated ligands can bind and activate oxygen without undesirable side-reactions between the ligand and oxygen.Polyaniline is a conducting polymer with good stability and important optical, electrical and electrochemical properties. Polyaniline is currently used in electrochromic displays, rechargeable batteries, microelectronics, antistatic materials, sensors and anti-corrosion coatings. The current industrial synthesis of polyaniline is expensive and produces a great deal of undesirable waste products. This new catalyst family may provide a "green synthesis" for polyaniline that uses air or oxygen as the oxidant andproduces only water as a by-product. Students working on this interdisciplinary project will gain skills in catalyst synthesis and polymer synthesis and characterization.