| Abstract: | Polyaniline soluble in organic solvents was prepared using dodecylbenzenesulphonic acid (DBSA) as functional dopant. The solubility parameter was calculated and the most suitable solvent chloroform was checked for the solubility and the most compatible polymer PMMA was selected for blending. Miscibility was maximized with 1% by weight of hydroquinone. Blending of doped polyaniline with dodecylbenzenesulphonic acid (PAni.DBSA) in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was explained by a change in the conformation of the polymeric chains leading to an increase in the conductivity. The electrical conductivity increased as the weight percent of PAni.DBSA increased, showing a percolation threshold as low as 3.0% by weight and the highest conductivity was achieved at 20% by wt of PAni.DBSA. Scanning electron micrographs showed lowest level of phase separation. Raman spectroscopy is used to characterize the blending process of two polymers aiming to understand the transformations in different types of charged segments. Raman results give complementary data about the blending process showing that together with the structural change of the polymeric chains, there is also a chemical transformation of these polymers. Analysis of Raman spectra was done investigating the relative intensities of the bands at 574 cm−1 and 607 cm−1. A relationship between conductivity and Raman was also proposed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
