The in situ polymerization of the anilinium-intercalated synthetic mica clay can easily result in an intercalated polyaniline (PANI)/clay nanocomposite. The FT-IR spectra demonstrated a significant shift for nu((C-N)) at 1292 cm(-1) of the templated polymerized and intercalated PANI molecules. A red shift of lambda(max) for PANI was found from UV-vis spectra. The intercalated PANI also expanded the clay basal spacing seen from WAXD patterns. The degradation rate and temperature of the nanocomposites were found to alleviate and increase compared to neat PANI, respectively. The microscopic examinations including TEM, SEM, and AFM pictures of the nanocomposite demonstrated an entirely different and more compatible morphology. Conductivity of nanocomposite gradually increased with PANI and apparent increase was found when intercalated PANI content reached 40.6 wt %, the possible percolation threshold. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.