PROCESSABLE CONDUCTING POLYANILINE

It has been found that diesters of phosphoric acid with branched alkyl substituents solubilize polyaniline in its protonated (conducting) st ate. Polyaniline protonated with (bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphate or bis(2- methylpropyl)phosphate is highly soluble in common organic solvents su ch as toluene, decaline, THF and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Conducting blends with poly(methylmethacrylate) or poly(acylonitrile-butadiene-st yrene) (ABS) can be prepared showing high conductivity for very low el ectroactive component content. Protonation of polyemeraldine base with neat esters results in a heavily plastisized mixture which can be the rmally processed to give free standing films with conductivities excee ding 10 S/cm. Depending on the content of the protonating agent, time and temperature of pressing films with different Young modulus, tensil e strength and elongation at break can be prepared. Similarly, conduct ing blends with excellent mechanical properties can be prepared from d iester plasticized polyaniline and plasticized polyvinyl chloride.