Effect of solvents or co-solvents an processibility of polyanillne from solution and on the properties of resulting PANI materials

Summary form only given. From our previous studies it is well known that to render polyaniline-dodecylbenzonesulfonic acid (DBSA) complexes soluble in non-polar solvents such as toluene or xylene, DBSA must be present in an amount more than 0.5 molar ratio of protons to one polyaniline repeat unit(PhN). This excess acid acts as a co-solvent and can be removed after casting a PANI film from solution. The excess DBSA can be replaced by neutral organic substances that provide strong hydrogen banding with the polyanillne chain or the attached couter-ions. Such additives can be solvents like is the case PANI-CSA in m-cresol, DIVISO and NMP. The processibility and properties of the resulting conduding polyaniline are not only dependent on the protonic acid but are effected also by the nature of the solvent or co-solvents. By careful choice of the combination of the counter-ion and the co-solvents for systems consisting of polyaniline and matrix polymers, good processibility and excellent physical properties can be obtained for the resulting polyaniling. Experimental results will be presented to disclose the role of co-solvents during processing and the properties of the resulting materials.