Conductive and Biodegradable Polyaniline/Starch Blends and Their Composites With Polystyrene

In recent years, polyaniline (PANI)/polymer conductive polymeric blends have attracted considerable attention. The majority of polymers selected to prepare PANI composites are insulating polymeric materials with excellent physical properties, e.g., rubbers, plastics and textiles. Generally, a large number of rubbers and plastics are synthesized by using petroleum feedstock as raw materials. However, the much limited and exhausting petroleum resources and most non-biodegradable plastics have become serious threats to living environment. In the present work, biodegradable conductive blends based on polyaniline/starch were prepared by in situ polymerization of aniline in the presence of starch activated in acidic medium. Various polyaniline/starch ratios (w/w%) were prepared to study the structure of the final blends. The conductivity of blends was measured and it was found that the electrical conductivity of the blends was increased by increasing the amount of polyaniline (PANI). In continuation of the study, various dopants such as organic and inorganic acids were tested to observe the electrical conductivity behaviour of the polyaniline/starch blends. Characterizations of the blends were accomplished by FTIR analysis, UV-Vis, XRD and DSC, and morphological studies were performed by scanning electronic microcopy (SEM). For improving the flexibility and mechanical properties of the blends, we introduced polystyrene of commercial type into the blends structure to prepare polyaniline/starch/polystyrene blends. The biodegradability test was carried out to demonstrate the biodegradability characteristics in the prepared conducting composites.