Spectral,thermal, and electrical properties of poly(o- and m-toluidine)-polystyrene blends prepared by emulsion pathway

Conducting poly(o-toluidine) (POT) and poly(m-toluidine) (PMT) blends containing 10, 30, 50, 70, and 90 % wt/wt of polystyrene (PSt) were prepared by employing a two-step emulsion pathway. The bands characteristic of both polystyrene and POT/PMT are present in the IR spectra of POT–PSt and PMT–PSt blends. The UV-visible spectra of POT–PSt and PMT–PSt blends exhibit two bands around 313 and 610 nm, confirming that some amount of POT/PMT base is present in the blends. The EPR parameters such as line width and spin concentration reveal the presence of POT/PMT salt in the respective blends. The TGA, DTA, and DSC results suggest a higher thermal stability for the POT and PMT blends than that for the respective salts. The conductivity values of POT(70)–PSt(30) and POT(90)–PSt(10) blends are almost the same (1.1 × 10⁻² and 1.3 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹, respectively) and these values are very close to that of pure POT salt, suggesting that POT can be blended with up to 30% wt/wt of PSt to improve its mechanical properties without a significant drop in its conductivity. The conductivity values of PMT–PSt blends are lower than those of the corresponding POT–PSt blends by two to three orders of magnitude, indicating that POT is a better system than PMT to prepare blends by this method. The dielectric constant and tan δ values of the blends increase with the amount POT/PMT and are greater than that of polystyrene. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. A Polym. Chem. 36: 2291–2299, 1998