Thermal and electrical properties of polyimide/PANI nanofiber composites prepared via in situ polymerization

Polyimide/polyaniline nanofiber composites were prepared by in situ polymerization with various weight percentages of polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), proved the successful preparation of PANI nanofiber composite films. In addition, thermal stability of PI/PANI nanofiber composites was superior relative to PI, having 10 % gravimetric loss in the range of 623 degrees C to 671 degrees C and glass transition temperature of 289 degrees C to 297 degrees C. Furthermore, the values of the loss tangent tan ffi and AC conductivity tan delta AC of the nanocomposite films were notably higher than those of pure polyimide. The addition of 5 wt.% to 15 wt.% PANI nanofiber filler enhanced the activation energy of PI composites from 0.37 eV to 0.34 eV.