Chiral electrodes of magnetoelectropolymerized polyaniline films

Polyaniline films were prepared by electropolymerization under a magnetic field of 5T parallel (+5 T) or antiparallel (-5T) to the faradaic currents. They were used as a modified electrode and their chiral properties were examined for L-ascorbic acid (L-AA), D-isoascorbic acid (D-AA) and L-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)alanine (L-DOPA) by cyclic voltammetry. The +5T-film electrode showed different oxidation currents between Land D-AA, and the -5T-film electrode showed opposite chirality. The redox currents of L-DOPA on the +5T-film electrode were smaller than those on the -5T-film electrode, and the results for racemic mixture of L- and D-DOPA were the same on the two electrodes. These results indicate that the Lorentz force in the electropolymerization process under magnetic fields introduces chirality to the polyaniline films and such film electrodes have the ability of chiral recognition.