Mechanical and surface structure properties of polyaniline derivatives

Summary form only given. The mechanical properties of polyaniline have been studied using Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA). A glass transition temperature (T/sub g/) has been identified in the parent, unsubstituted polyaniline. The T/sub g/ will be shown to depend on the type and amount of solvent in the polymer film. The mechanical properties of various ring substituted polyanilines as well as polyaniline copolymers have also been studied and these will be compared to the unsubstituted polyaniline. In addition, the surface structure of polyaniline films have been characterizied using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM images will be presented for chemically synthesized unsubstituted and ring substituted polyandine films before and after thermal annealing.