Ultraflexible and Mechanically Strong Polymer/Polyaniline Conductive Interpenetrating Nanocomposite via In Situ Polymerization of Vinyl Monomer

Simultaneous enhancement of conductivity and mechanical properties for polyaniline/polymer nanocomposite still remains a big challenge. Here, a reverse approach via in situ polymerization (RIP) of vinyl monomers in waterborne polyaniline dispersion was raised to prepare conductive polyaniline (GPANI)/polyacrylate (PMB) interpenetrating polymer (GPANI-PMB) nanocomposite. GPANI/PMB physical blend was simultaneously prepared as reference. The conductive GPANI-PMB nanocomposite film with compact pomegranate-shape morphology is homogeneous, ultraflexible and mechanically strong. With incorporating a considerable amount of PMB into GPANI via the RIP method, only a slight decrease from 3.21 to 2.80 S/cm was detected for the conductivity of GPANI-PMB, while the tensile strength significantly increased from 25 to 43.5 MPa, and the elongation at break increased from 40% to 234%. The water absorption of GPANI-PMB3 after 72 h immersion decreased from 24.68% to 10.35% in comparison with GPANI, which is also higher than that of GPANI/PMB. The conductivity and tensile strength of GPANI-PMB were also much higher than that of GPANI/PMB (0.006 S/cm vs. 5.59 MPa). Moreover, the conductivity of GPANI-PMB remained almost invariable after folding 200 times, while that of GPANI/PMB decreased by almost half. This RIP approach should be applicable for preparing conventional conductive polymer nanocomposite with high conductivity, high strength and high flexibility.

Automated summary

The reverse approach of in situ polymerization was used to prepare a conductive polyaniline/polyacrylate interpenetrating polymer nanocomposite, which showed high conductivity, tensile strength, and flexibility. The water absorption was significantly reduced, and the conductivity remained stable even after folding 200 times.