Conducting blends obtained from maleic acid/dodecylhydrogensulfate-doped polyaniline and polyvinyl chloride by solution processing

Solution processible polyaniline, obtained by our newly developed method via emulsion polymerization in the presence of maleic acid and sodium lauryl sulfate with benzoyl peroxide as the oxidizing/polymerizing agent, has been used for the fabrication of conductive blends with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), covering the conductivity range from 10(-5) to 5 x 10(-3) S/cm and showing the percolation threshold for the electrical conductivity f(p) = 0.039. The fabricated blends combine good mechanical properties with enhanced electrical conductivity, since up to conducting phase content f = 0.231, their mechanical properties remain essentially the same and characteristic of pure PVC. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements show a single glass-transition temperature (T,,) increasing with growing content of the rigid conductive phase in the blend. This effect can be taken as an evidence of good miscibility of both components of the blend with phase separation at a submicrometric level. The latter has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy studies showing a necklace-like morphology which assures the continuity of the conductive phase. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.