Thermally stable forms of electrically conductive polyaniline

A thermally stable electrically conductive homopolymer or copolymer comprising a substituted or unsubstituted polyaniline derived from polymerizing an aniline of the formula:

• ##STR5## having therein a dopant solute selected from the group consisting of:
• ##STR6## in an amount sufficient to provide a doped polyaniline having a conductivity of at least about 10.sup.-6 ohm.sup.-1 cm.sup.-1 wherein:
• R.sub.1 is the same or different at each occurrence and is a substituted or unsubstituted organic radical, amino, alkylamino, dialkylamino, arylamino, diarylamino, or alkylarylamino;
• n is an integer from 0 to 4;
• m is an integer from 1 to 5 with the proviso that the sum of n and m is 5;
• r is an integer equal to or greater than 1;
• R.sub.2 and R.sub.4 are the same or different at each occurrence and are R.sub.3 substituents, hydrogen or alkyl;
• with the proviso that at least one of R.sub.2 or R.sub.4 is hydrogen and with the further proviso that R.sub.2 and R.sub.4 are not alkylsulfonyl, arylsulfonyl or alkanoyl;
• R.sub.3 is deuterium, alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxy, cycloalkyl, hydroxy, cycloalkenyl, alkanoyl, alkylthio, aryloxy, alkylthioalkyl, alkylaryl, arylalkyl, alkylsulfinyl, alkoxyalkyl, alkylsulfonyl, aryl, arylthio, arylsulfinyl, alkoxycarbonyl, alkylsilane, phosphinic acid, arylsulfonyl, phosphonic acid, sulfonic acid, boric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfonate, borate, phosphonate, phosphinate, phosphate, sulfinic acid, sulfinate, carboxylic acid, halo, carboxylate, cyano, or alkyl or alkoxy substituted with one or more phosphonic acid, sulfonic acid, boric acid, sulfinic acid, sulfinate, phosphoric acid, sulfonate, borate, carboxylate, phosphonate, phosphate, carboxylic acid, halo, hydroxy, cyano or epoxy moieties;
• or any two R.sub.3 substituents or any one R.sub.3 substituent and any one R.sub.2 or R.sub.4 substituent taken together may form an alkylene or alkenylene chain completing a 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 membered aromatic or alicyclic carbon ring, or any two R.sub.3 substituents or any one R.sub.3 substitutent and any one R.sub.2 or R.sub.4 substituent taken together may form an alkylene or alkenylene chain completing a 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 membered aromatic or alicyclic carbon ring which includes one or more divalent ester, carbonyl, nitrogen, sulfur, sulfinyl, sulfonyl or oxygen, or R.sub.3 is an aliphatic moiety having repeat units of the formula:
• (OCH.sub.2 CH.sub.2).sub.q O--CH.sub.3, (OCH.sub.2 CH(CH.sub.3)).sub.q O--CH.sub.3, (CH.sub.2).sub.q CF.sub.3, (CF.sub.2).sub.q CF.sub.3 or (CH.sub.2).sub.q CH.sub.3
• wherein q is a positive whole number;
• with the proviso that the homopolymer or copolymer includes 10 or more recurring aromatic moieties.