Poly(m-phenylenediamine): Synthesis and characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Insoluble conducting poly(m-phenylenediamine) (PmPDA) has been chemically prepared by oxidative polymerization in the presence of sodium persulphate and concentrated HCl. Thermogravimetry indicates thermal stability superior to that of the much studied polyaniline in terms of overall decomposition and dopant retention temperatures. We attribute this difference to the ladder sheet structure proposed for PmPDA. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies confirmed the existence of nitrogen atoms in four different environments of various degrees of oxidation. The lower conductivity found for PmPDA may be due to the lower degree of protonation, as found from XPS data.