Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.84, No.7, 1438-1447, 2002
Melt/solution processable conducting polyaniline: Elastomeric blends with EVA
Polyaniline (PANI) protonated with dopant, the sulfonic acid of 3-pentade-cylphenoxyacetic acid (SPDPAA; synthesized from an inexpensive naturally existing biomonomer, cardanol), was blended with an elastomeric polymer, the ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer. Blending was performed either by emulsion polymerization of aniline into the EVA matrix or by the solution-mixing method. Thin films were prepared by the conventional melt-processing technique for an emulsion-polymerized system and by the solution-casting method for a solution-mixed system. In the case of the emulsion-polymerized system, the percolation threshold occurs at a very low weight percentage of PANI, and a maximum conductivity value of 0.85 S cm(-1) was obtained for 28.5 wt % of PANI. These elastomeric conducting blends were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR and UV-visible spectral analysis, conductivity measurements, SEM, XRD, tensile properties, TGA, and DSC.