Cellulose nanofibrils modification with polyaniline aiming at enhancing electrical properties for application in flexible electronics

Abstract

This work aims to produce, characterize and compare the properties of composite films of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and polyaniline (PANI) doped with two distinct acids. CNF were produced by mechanical fibrillation and combined with PANI via in situ polymerization. The results revealed that PANI presented successful polymerization and homogenous dispersion throughout the films with no distinctive separation from cellulose. The films containing PANI doped with HCl 1M and 2M presented significantly higher values in comparison with the films produced with only CNF. The charge transfer resistance evaluated by impedance spectroscopy for the films with PANI was lower than for the CNF films, indicating an improvement in electrical conduction, which in turn helped increasing charge storage. Even though the films of PANI doped with citric acid showed lower values compared to those of the films doped with HCl, citric acid is a suitable and greener dopant and therefore, it is worth being further investigated for conducting thin films containing cellulose for application in green electronics.