Thermal and morphological characterization of conducting, polyaniline/polystyrene blends

In this study the conductive blend polyaniline/polystyrene (PAni/PS) was prepared by casting method resulting in flexible films, it was doped with hydrochloric acid. We conducted a series of characterizations such as infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and impedance spectroscopy (AC). The infrared (FTIR) analysis was intended to identify the main stretching vibrations of organic groups for both the components. The thermogravimetric measurements (TGA) show that the blends have higher thermal stability than the polymers alone, since the mass losses were less pronounced. The PS presented itself as a fragile material; the blends are similar to conducting polymer. On the other hand, the electronic microscopy scans showed that the PAni film has tiny clusters, which indicates that the thermoplastic interacts with PAni, resulting in a conductive blend with low bias current.