Metal oxide-assisted chemical synthesis of poly(a-naphthylamine) and characterizations S. Radhika Æ K. Durai Murugan Æ I. Baskaran Æ V. Dhanalakshmi Æ R. Anbarasan Received: 27 December 2008 / Accepted: 8 April 2009 / Published online: 29 April 2009 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract a-Naphthylamine (NA) was chemically poly- merized using peroxy disulfate (PDS) as a chemical initiator under inert atmosphere at 45 °C with vigorous stirring under various experimental conditions such as different concen- trations of NA, PDS and different % weight of nanosized metal oxides like Sb 2 O 3 , CrO 3 ,V 2 O 5 , Al 2 O 3 , As 2 O 3 and ammonium heptamolybdate (AHM). Chemical kinetics inferred that rate of polymerization (R p ) is 1.75 order of reaction with [NA] and 1.0 with [PDS]. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed that both benzenoid and quinonoid rings built up the structure of poly(a-naphthylamine) (PNA). Added metal oxides influenced the R p , char forming capability of PNA and conductivity too through their surface catalytic effect. AFM confirmed the presence of nanosized materials in the poly- mer–nanocomposite structure. HRTEM was used to confirm the nanosize of metal oxides and the intercalation of PNA chains into the basal spacing of metal oxides. Introduction For the past few decades, the polymer chemists have turned their attention toward the chemical [1] and electrochemical [2] synthesis of mononuclear aromatic primary and secondary amines due to their high conduc- tivity, ease of preparation, environmental stability and their potential applications in different engineering and medical fields [3]. Unfortunately, publications on poly- nuclear aromatic amines are rarely available in the liter- ature. Baghahi et al. [4] reported the electrochemical synthesis of poly(b-naphthylamine) in aqueous acidic medium. Electrochemical polymerization of a-naphthyl- amine (NA) in perchloric acid medium was reported in [5]. Electropolymerization of NA in the eutectic mixture has been reported in literature [6]. Ferrocene sulfonic acid-doped poly(a-naphthylamine) (PNA) was electro- chemically prepared and characterized by using FTIR, XPS, SEM, and cyclic voltammetry [7]. Moon et al. [8] reported about chemical oxidative polymerization and characterization of PNA and poly(1-amino anthracene). Naphthylamines were electrochemically oxidized in aqueous acidic medium in the presence of KI [9]. Arevalo et al. [10] have studied the electropolymerization of NA in aqueous acidic medium and explained the mechanism of polymerization. Simultaneous UV–visible, spectro- electrochemical, and quartz crystal measurements of PNA film was published in the year 1995 [11]. Roy et al. [12] recently published chemical oxidative polymerization of NA and b-naphthylamine. In 2002, George and Young reported the self-doped water-soluble poly(naphthyl- amines) [13]. Gordana et al. [14] electropolymerized 2-methyl-1-naphthylamine and the films were characterized by using FTIR, CV and GPC techniques. Electrochemical polymerization of 5-amino naphthol [15], NA [16], and a-amino anthracene [17] has been reported in the literature. The above literature survey indicated the methods available for the synthesis of poly(naphthylamine) and analytical instruments used for their characterization. S. Radhika  K. Durai Murugan  I. Baskaran Department of Chemistry, S.N. College, Madurai 625 022, Tamil Nadu, India V. Dhanalakshmi Department of Polymer Technology, KCET, Virudhunagar 626 001 Tamil Nadu, India R. Anbarasan (&) Department of Chemical Engineering, Nano Biotechnology Research Laboratory, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan, ROC e-mail: anbu_may3@yahoo.co.in 123 J Mater Sci (2009) 44:3542–3555 DOI 10.1007/s10853-009-3478-8