Blends of HCl-doped polyaniline nanoparticles and poly(vinyl chloride) with extremely low percolation threshold — a morphology study

Blends of hydrochloric acid-doped polyaniline (PANI·HCl) nanoparticles and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) have been prepared by redispersing sedimented colloidal particles of PANI in tetrahydrofuran solutions of PVC using ultrasound and casting the film from the dispersion. The blends have the characteristics of extremely low percolation threshold at a volume fraction of PANI of 4.02 × 10−4. The morphology of the blends as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the blend films directly cast on TEM grids is discussed. Above the percolation threshold the dispersed PANI·HCl phase shows a globular network morphology in contrast to the fibrillar network morphology observed earlier for PANI·HCl-poly(vinyl alcohol) blends prepared by the present method.