Gi. Titelman et al., THERMAL DYNAMIC PROCESSING OF POLYANILINE WITH DODECYLBENZENE SULFONIC-ACID, Journal of applied polymer science, 66(12), 1997, pp. 2199-2208
To attain an intrinsically conductive and processible polymer, polyani
line (PANI)/dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) blends of several comp
ositions were processed at various elevated temperatures in a Brabende
r plastograph. The blends' temperatures during processing, as affected
by the blends' composition and initial process temperature, were moni
tored. Accordingly, the process includes the following main stages: he
ating the blend, exothermic PANI-DBSA doping reaction accompanied by a
paste to a solidlike transition, and plasticization of the resulting
PANI/DBSA complex by the excess DBSA. Composition analysis of the proc
ess products sampled at the various stages showed that the initial ble
nds, prior to their thermal processing, already consisted of partially
doped PANI particles, having a core/shell structure; the core consist
s of PANI(base) and the shell of PANI(DBSA)(0.32) complex. In addition
, at the paste-to-solid-like transition, the doping reaction is comple
ted; further mixing does not affect the complex composition, but resul
ts in conductivity reduction. The morphology of the blends sampled at
the various processing stages was studied by electron microscopy. From
the conductivity and processibility point of view, optimal PANI/DBSA
blend composition and processing temperature were identified. (C) 1997
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.