Effect of pressure on the morphology of polyaniline nanostructures

We present experimental results regarding the effects of applied pressure on the morphology and electrical conductivity of polyaniline/HClO4 nanostructures synthesized via dilute polymerization. By applying a local pressure of 4000 psi (28 MPa) to the nanostructured network, the morphology of the network was transformed to that of a continuous film. The conductivity shows a concomitant increase for the temperature range of 250–300 K. We assign this enhancement of room temperature conductivity to an increase in the effective contact areas between the previously fibrous structures leading to a shorter charge transport path length as the morphology of the film is transformed from a nanostructured network to a continuous film.