Electropolymerisation of N-Ethylanilinium Trifluoroacetate Ionic Liquid into Poly(N-Ethylaniline) and Control of its Morphology

Journal article, 2017

In this paper, the electropolymerisation of pre-synthesised N-ethylanilinium trifluoroacetate, a protic ionic liquid (PIL), was carried out. The PIL served as the monomer precursor, solvent, and supporting electrolyte for the polymerisation process, and no additional acid was required due to the protic nature of the PIL. Two different morphologies of the poly(N-ethylaniline) were achieved by using different electropolymerisation approaches and the resultant films were soluble in the PIL precursor as well as a wide range of organic solvents. The use of anilinium based PILs, as polymerisation precursors, promises a greener approach for the production of polyanilines, as well as highly processable polymers.