Purification and Glutaraldehyde Activation Study on HCl-Doped PVA–PANI Copolymers with Different Aniline Concentrations

In this work, we report the synthesis and purification of polyvinyl alcohol-polyaniline (PVA–PANI) copolymers at different aniline concentrations, and their molecular ((1)H-NMR and FTIR), thermal (TGA/DTG/DSC), optical (UV–Vis-NIR), and microstructural (XRD and SEM) properties before and after activation with glutaraldehyde (GA) in order to obtain an active membrane. The PVA–PANI copolymers were synthesized by chemical oxidation of aniline using ammonium persulfate (APS) in an acidified (HCl) polyvinyl alcohol matrix. The obtained copolymers were purified by dialysis and the precipitation–redispersion method in order to eliminate undesired products and compare changes due to purification. PVA–PANI products were analyzed as gels, colloidal dispersions, and thin films. (1)H-NMR confirmed the molecular structure of PVA–PANI as the proposed skeletal formula, and FTIR of the obtained purified gels showed the characteristic functional groups of PVA gels with PANI nanoparticles. After exposing the material to a GA solution, the presence of the FTIR absorption bands at 1595 cm(−1), 1650 cm(−1), and 1717 cm(−1) confirmed the activation of the material. FTIR and UV–Vis-NIR characterization showed an increase of the benzenoid section of PANI with GA exposure, which can be interpreted as a reduction of the polymer with the time of activation and concentration of the solution.