Thermal stability in terms of DC electrical conductivity retention and the efficacy of mixing technique in the preparation of nanocomposites of graphene/polyaniline over the carbon nanotubes/polyaniline

Electrically conductive HCl doped polyaniline (Pani)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and Pani/graphene (GR) nanocomposites thin films were prepared by mixing method in the presence of different amounts of nanoparticles. Later, film casting was done using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone as a solvent. The formation of Pani/MWCNT and Pani/GR nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Due to poor dispersion of MWCNT in Pani, only Pani/GR nanocomposite films were studied for DC electrical conductivity retention in air by isothermal and cyclic techniques. The films of Pani/GR nanocomposites were observed to be thermally more stable under ambient environmental conditions than pure Pani film. Due to their better dispersion and high stability, such type of nanocomposites may find place as a replacement material for Pani and Pani/MWCNT. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.