Oxidative copolymerization of 2-pyridylamine and aniline

A series of copolymers were easily synthesized via the chemical oxidative polymerization of 2-pyridylamine (2PA) and aniline (AN) in an acidic aqueous medium. The yield, intrinsic viscosity, and solubility of the copolymers were studied through changes in the 2PA/AN molar ratio, polymerization temperature, oxidant, oxidant/monomer molar ratio, and polymerization medium. The resulting 2PA/AN copolymers were characterized by 1H NMR, Fourier transform infrared, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric techniques. The results showed that the oxidative copolymerization from 2PA and AN was exothermic. The resultant copolymers were amorphous and exhibited enhanced solubility in comparison with polyaniline. The 2PA/AN copolymers showed the highest decomposition temperature (530 °C), the slowest maximum-weight-loss rate (1.2 %/min), the largest char yield (45 wt %), and the greatest degradation activation energy (65 kJ/mol) in nitrogen. The thermostability of the copolymers was generally higher in nitrogen than in air. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 4407–4418, 2000