Nanostructured Polyamic Acid Membranes as Novel Electrode Materials

Abstract

This paper describes a new approach for the preparation of polyamic acid (PAA) composites containing Ag and Au nanoparticles. The composite film of PAA and metal particles were obtained upon electrodeposition of a PAA solution containing gold or silver salts with subsequent thermal treatment, while imidization to polyimide is prevented. The structural characterization of the films is provided by 1H NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), while the presence of metallic nanoparticles within the polymeric matrix was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This approach utilizes the unique reactivity of PAA by preventing the cyclization of the reactive soluble intermediate into polyimides at low temperature to design polymer-assisted nanostructured materials. The ability to prevent the cyclization process should enable the design of a new class of electrode materials by use of thermal reduction and/or electrodeposition.

Smart electrochemical biosensors: From advanced materials to ultrasensitive devices

“…Our group is exploring the possibility of building functional polymeric structures through electrochemical and mechanical synthesis and photopolymerization [23][24][25][26][27]. Metal nanoparticles dispersed in polymeric matrices have recently been the subject of intense studies aimed at developing nanocomposite films [28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

“…These include the synthesis of (i) polyamic acid-silver nanoparticle composite membranes [24], (ii) polyoxydianiline films [45], and (iii) electrochemical deposition of gold nanoparticle films onto functionalized conducting polymer substrate [27,46]. One approach utilizes the unique reactivity of polyamic acid (PAA) by preventing the cyclization of the reactive soluble intermediate into polyimides at low temperature to design polymer-assisted nanostructured materials [24]. The ability to prevent the cyclization process has enabled the design of a new class of electrode materials [24,25].…”

“…One approach utilizes the unique reactivity of polyamic acid (PAA) by preventing the cyclization of the reactive soluble intermediate into polyimides at low temperature to design polymer-assisted nanostructured materials [24]. The ability to prevent the cyclization process has enabled the design of a new class of electrode materials [24,25]. Fig.…”

“…We have found that regularly arranged metal nanoparticles could be spontaneously prepared using photochemical polymerization of electrically conducting polymers (ECPs) [24,25]. The Scheme 1.…”

“…Chemistry of the synthetic procedure for nanostructured PAA membranes. oxidation of a -conjugated ECP with gold trichloride, silver nitrate, palladium ions, and copper sulfate following photochemical reaction was found to produce conducting films having metal clusters in 5-100 nm range [24,25]. The incorporated metal clusters enhanced the conductivity of the resulting polymers.…”