Thin Solid Films, Vol.516, No.10, 2928-2933, 2008
Acacia stabilized polyaniline dispersions: preparation, properties and blending with poly(vinyl alcohol)
Polyaniline (PANI) dispersion in water has been prepared by using industrially produced and cheaper stabilizer, namely gum acacia - dried exudates from a species of acacia tree. Gum acacia stabilized PANI particles can be easily isolated from the aniline polymerization reaction mixture and then re-dispersed in water. By increasing the content of gum acacia - in the polyaniline-gum acacia (PANI-ACACIA) redispersable composite from 42 to 70 wt.% it is possible to diminish the average particle diameter from 450 nm to 200 nm and lower its size distribution. The suitability of the dispersion for blending with water-soluble polymers, such as for example poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) has also been tested. The composite PANI-ACACIA containing 60 wt.% of gum acacia has yielded the best blends with PVA with the conductivity in the range of 10(-4) to 10(-5) S/cm. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.