Preparation and charge transport studies of chemically synthesized polyaniline

Polyaniline doped with p-toluenesulfonic acid was synthesized using in situ chemical oxidation method for optimization of synthesis parameters. For p-toluenesulfonic acid/aniline molar ratio of 5, the obtained polymer exhibits highest value of the electrical conductivity. The electrical conductivity of polyaniline doped with p-toluenesulfonic acid was measured in the temperature range of 30–300 K. The conductivity of polyaniline was found to increase with rise in the temperature. The measured conductivity versus temperature data was fitted with Arrhenius model, variable range hopping (VRH) model and Kivelson model in order to investigate the charge transfer mechanism in polyaniline. It is shown that conductivity observed over wide temperature range of 30–300 K follows Kivelson model obeying power law behavior.