Heterogeneous preparation of cellulose–polyaniline conductive composites with cellulose activated by acids and its electrical properties

A series of conductive composites cellulose–polyaniline (PANI) were heterogeneously synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline with native cellulose activated by various acids. The chemical structure and morphology of the composites were examined by FT-IR analysis and TEM. TGA was used to study their thermal properties. The composites prepared using the di-basic acids exhibited more favorable conductivity than the composites prepared using the monobasic acids. The content of PANI increased with increasing of activation time, and while the conductivity decreased because of the aggregation of PANI particles at the activation time range from 50 to 120 min. Both the PANI content and the electrical conductivity increased with an increase of the amount of aniline, and reached the maximum values at the 0.5 g aniline, respectively. The acids were able to successfully activate cellulose and lead to the improvement of the accessibility and reactivity of the O–H groups. The composites were highly stable compared to pure cellulose due to the safeguard from PANI slices. This work provided a facile method for the synthesis of cellulose–polyaniline conductive composites with excellent conductivity.