Polypyrrole–vinyl aniline modified cyclohexanone formaldehyde resin copolymers: a comparative study of the resin preparation

In this study, the synthesis of polypyrrole‐b‐vinyl aniline modified cyclohexanone formaldehyde resin (PPy‐b‐CFVAnR) block copolymers by a combination of condensation polymerization and chemical oxidative polymerization processes was examined. First, a cyclohexanone formaldehyde resin containing vinyl aniline units [4‐ vinyl aniline modified cycl?ohexanone formaldehyde resin (CFVAnR)] was prepared by a direct condensation reaction of 4‐vinyl aniline and cyclohexanone with formaldehyde in an in situ modification reaction. CFVAnR and pyrrole (Py) were then used with a conventional method of in situ chemical oxidative polymerization. The reactions were carried out with heat‐activated potassium persulfate salt in the presence of p‐toluene sulfonic acid in a dimethyl sulfoxide–water binary solvent system; this led to the formation of desired block copolymers. The effects of the oxidant–monomer molar ratio, dopant existence, addition order of the reactants, and reaction temperature on the yield, conductivity, and morphology of the resulting products were investigated. PPy‐b‐CFVAnR copolymers prepared with a resin‐to‐Py molar ratio of 1:40 showed conductivity in the range 3.7 × 10^?1 to 3.8 × 10^?2 S/cm. Oxidant‐to‐Py molar ratios of 0.5 and 1.0 were proposed to be the optimum stoichiometries for higher conductivity and yield, respectively, of the copolymer. The morphology of the copolymer (PPy‐b‐CFVAnR) was investigated with environmental scanning electron microscopy analyses. The results indicate that the surface of the copolymer was composed of well‐distributed nanospheres with average particle diameters of 60–85 nm. Also, the synthesized PPy‐b‐CFVAnR had a higher thermal stability than the pure CFVAnR. The chemical composition and structure of the PPy‐b‐CFVAnR copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and measurement. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 132, 42841.