Processing natural wood into bulk conducting materials

Abstract

By taking the natural bulk wood segments to immerse in the aniline, ANI, solution to allow the wood pores swelling and ANI molecules penetration or diffusion, initially, and then to in situ synthesize the polyaniline, PANI, within wood, we produced the bulk conducting wood. Results showed that this bulk conducting wood has conductivity at about 0.13 S/cm and an enhanced thermal stability as comparing to the referenced pure wood. The mechanism on formation of the bulk conducting wood has been found due to the ANI molecules initially pre-penetrated or diffused into the wood pore structure to fill and coat the pores to lead the subsequent chemical interactions occurred between the NHs groups of ANI and the CH2–OH groups of wood through the glucose units of cellulose.