Synthesis and characterization of conducting composites of polyaniline and carbon black with high thermal stability

Abstract

In this work, a detailed chemical route to prepare thermally stable polyaniline (PANI)/carbon black (CB) composites is described. The syntheses were performed by chemical polymerization of aniline over CB particles, using different PANI/CB mass ratios. The thermal and electrical properties were characterized. Composites with mass ratio up to 65:35 (PANI:CB) showed excellent thermal stability maintaining their conducting properties when thermally treated at 230 °C for two hours, which is adequate to process these materials. Moreover, the results showed an important reduction in the surface area of the composites which have a good relationship with the improvement of the rheological properties in melt processing.