Layer-by-layer assembly of polyaniline nanofibers/poly(acrylic acid) multilayer film and electrochemical sensing

Polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers are synthesized by dilute polymerization and subsequently used for layer-by-layer assembly with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA). The chemical synthesized PANI nanofibers are characterized by SEM and TEM. In addition, the LBL assembly process is characterized by SEM, UV-vis spectrometry and electrochemical methods. PAA inside the multilayer film can dope nanostructured PANI effectively and shift its electroactivity to a neutral pH environment. Compared with PANI/PAA film co-deposited on the electrode by electropolymerization, the redox behavior of PANI/PAA multilayer via LBL assembly is more reversible, indicating the enhancement of electron transfer. The obtained nanostructured PANI/PAA multilayer films are very stable and show high electrocatalytic ability toward H₂O₂, which makes it an ideal substrate for H₂O₂ detection and offers great promise for biosensing.