Synthesis of conducting polyelectrolyte complexes of polyaniline and poly(2-acrylamido-3-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) catalyzed by pH-stable palm tree peroxidase.

Comparison of the stability of five plant peroxidases (horseradish, royal palm tree leaf, soybean, and cationic and anionic peanut peroxidases) was carried out under acidic conditions favorable for synthesis of polyelectrolyte complexes of polyaniline (PANI). It demonstrates that palm tree peroxidase has the highest stability. Using this peroxidase as a catalyst, the enzymatic synthesis of polyelectrolyte complexes of PANI and poly(2-acrylamido-3-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) was developed. The template polymerization of aniline was carried out in aqueous buffer at pH 2.8. Varying the concentrations of aniline, PAMPS, and hydrogen peroxide as reagents, favorable conditions for production of PANI were determined. UV-vis-NIR absorption and EPR demonstrated that PAMPS and PANI formed the electroactive complex similar to PANI doped traditionally using low molecular weight sulfonic acids. The effect of pH on conformational variability of the complex was evaluated by UV-vis spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy showed that a size of the particles of the PANI-PAMPS complexes varied between 10 and 25 nm, depending on a concentration of PAMPS in the complex. The dc conductivity of the complexes depends also on the content of PAMPS, the higher conductivity being for the complexes containing the lower content of the polymeric template.