Electrical properties of polyaniline/sulfonated polycarbonate blends

A conducting composite using polyaniline (PANI) as the conducting polymer and polycarbonate (PC) as a matrix was prepared by a blending method. Chloroform was used as a solvent in the blending. The PANI was protonated using camphor sulfonic acid (CSA) or a dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) such as alkylbenzenesulfonic acid. A sulfonic group was introduced into the structure of the PC in order to enhance the coulombic interaction between each phase of the composite. The effect of ionic groups in sulfonated PC (SPC) was monitored using measurements of both the mechanical and thermal properties. Using the presence of protonating agents and the amount of PANI complex, both the electrical conductivity and morphology were measured. Electrical conductivity increased to 7.5 S/cm with the amount of PANI complex protonated with DBSA having a long alkyl chain.