A novel soluble PANI/TPU composite doped with inorganic and organic compound acid

Abstract

AbstractA series of novel soluble and thermoplastic polyurethane/polyaniline (TPU/PANI) composites doped with a compound acid, which was composed of an organic acid (p‐toluene sulfonic acid) and an inorganic acid (phosphoric acid), were successfully prepared by in situ polymerization. The effect of aniline (ANI) content, ratio of organic acid/inorganic acid, and different preparation methods on the conductivity of the TPU/PANI composites were investigated by using conductivity measurement. Lithium bisoxalato borate (LiBOB) was added to the prepared in situ TPU/PANI to coordinate with the ether oxygen groups originating from the soft molecular chains of TPU, and thus the conductivity of the composites was further enhanced. The molecular structure, thermal properties, and morphology of the TPU/PANI composites were studied by UV–visible spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results show that the in situ TPU/PANI composites doped with the compound acid can be easily dissolved in normal solvents such as dimethylformamide (DMF) and 1,4‐dioxane. The conductivity of the TPU/PANI composites increases with the increase of the ANI content, in the ANI content range of 0–20 wt %; however, the conductivity of the composites reduces with further increment of ANI content. The conductivity of the TPU/PANI composites prepared by in situ polymerization is about two orders of magnitude higher than that prepared by solution blending method. LiBOB can endow the in situ TPU/PANI composites with an ionic conductivity. The dependence of the conductivity on temperature is in good accordance with the Arrhenius equation in the temperature range of 20–80°C. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010