Synthesis of a New Nanocomposite of poly (o-Toluidine) on Silica in the Presence of Anhydrous FeCl3 as Oxidant in Solid-State

A new nanocomposite of poly (2-methylaniline) and silica was synthesized via in-situ polymerization of 2-methylaniline deposited on silica as substrate without using a dopant solid acid andin the presence of anhydrous iron (III) chloride as oxidant under solvent-free condition (solid-state) by template-free method. The resulted Nanocomposite was identified by using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible spectral photometric methods (UV-Vis) in NMP as solvent. These methodsverified the polymer composition and the doping process. Morphology and size of particles were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images showed that the morphology is amorphous, in some area the particles sticking together and have particle size in the range 30-50 nm. The composite was prepared from silica gel, surprisely, it was converted to nanocomposite, and that is, average size of particles was below 100 nm. Indeed, this nanocomposite was obtained without using any template and/or any nanostructure material such as nanosilica.

Keywords:

Nanosilica , solid-state , poly(2-methylaniline) , conductive polymer , anhydrous Iron (III)chloride