Thin films of polyaniline-polyacrylic acid composite by chemical bath deposition

Polyaniline (PANI)-polyacrylic acid (PAA) composite thin films were deposit ed at room temperature on glass and polymethyl methacrylate substrates by i ntroducing these into a freshly prepared chemical bath of HCl, PAA, aniline monomers and (NH4)(2)S2O8 Compared to the single PANI films, which were ob tained from the same bath constitution but without PAA solution, the compos ite films showed a red shift at the maximum optical transmittance peak and a slightly lower electrical conductivity. Fourier transform infrared spectr oscopy studies of the PANI composite thin films indicated the presence of t he acid-base reaction product between PANI and PAA, as well as PAA molecule incorporation in the films. Atomic force microscopy analysis also showed m orphologic and mechanical elasticity differences between the single PANI fi lm the composite films deposited by the chemical bath method. (C) 1999 Else vier Science S.A. All rights reserved.