Polyanilines soluble in an aqueous basic medium were synthesised by copolymerization of aniline (ANI) with both 2 and 3-aminobenzoic acids (ABA). Different composition copolymers were prepared by varying the ANI/ABA feed ratio. Poly(aniline-co-2-aminobenzoic acid) (PANI2ABA) and poly(aniline-co-3-aminobenzoic acid) (PANI3ABA) displayed differences in their properties, such as specific charge and fluorescence behavior because the reactivity of 2-aminobenzoic (2ABA) and 3-aminobenzoic (3ABA) acids are very different. The new materials were characterized by X-ray photoelectron, Fourier transform infrared, and Raman spectroscopies. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.