TOWARDS OPTIMIZATION OF ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF POLYANILINE - IS CROSS-LINKING BETWEEN CHAINS THE KEY

A distinction has been made experimentally between the effect on condu ctivity and tensile strength caused by 1-D mechanical alignment of par ent polyaniline films and the effect produced by dic combination of ph ysical crosslinking by crystalline domains and associated 1-D nematic- type alignment of amorphous material. At least in die case of films, a small amount of alignment in amorphous regions results in surprisingl y large increases in conductivity and tensile strength; however, exten sive crosslinking by crystalline domains and associated 1-D nematic al ignment in amorphous regions is necessary in order to optimize interch ain electrical and mechanical properties.