Conductive potassium feldspar/polyaniline composites prepared by in situ chemical polymerization

Conductive potassium feldspar/polyaniline (K-feldspar/PAn) composites were prepared by the chemical polymerization of aniline in the presence of K-feldspar particles using potassium dichromate in an acidic aqueous medium. The effects of K-feldspar particle size, aniline concentration and temperature upon the PAn amount in the composite and the electrical surface resistance of the composites were examined. Electrical conductivity was higher in the composites prepared by the smaller K-feldspar particles in which the PAn yield is low. The microhardness values of K-feldspar/PAn composites increased to a certain PAn content and then decreased. The microhardness of the composites containing PAn in the range of 1–6%, which were prepared by K-feldspar having particle size smaller than 0.125–0.250 nm, was higher that of pure K-feldspar and PAn (0.843 kPa). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that PAn covered the surface of K-feldspar particles with an unsmooth PAn layer. The characterization of composites was also made by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).