ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Polyaniline/montmorillonite nanocomposite thin layers deposited on different substrates

Lenka Kulhánková, Jonáš Tokarský, Petra Vilímová, Pavlína Peikertová, and Oldřich Motyka

Faculty of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, VŠB-Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

E-mail: jonas.tokarsky@vsb.cz

Abstract: Preparation method of polyaniline/montmorillonite (PANI/MMT) nanocomposite in the form of thin layer deposited on various substrates is optimized in this work to obtain high electrical conductivity. Simple method (i.e. polymerization of anilinium sulfate in the presence of MMT) has been used for the preparation and following four conditions were varied: preparation temperature (T = 10 or 20 °C), preparation time (t = 4 or 6 h), size fraction of MMT (p < 1 or 5 µm), and type of substrate (microscope glass slides, silica glass slides, polyester foils). Therefore, 24 samples were prepared, characterized and their electrical conductivity was compared. Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used for the characterization of the structure of samples. Thickness of layers was measured using atomic force microscopy. Based on the comparison of samples and with respect to the aim of obtaining high electrical conductivity, it was found that the most suitable substrate is polyester foil and preparation conditions are T = 20 °C, t = 6 h, p < 5 µm. To obtain highly conductive layers on glass substrates (although less conductive than layers on foil), preparation time have to be shortened to 4 h.

Keywords: Polyaniline; Montmorillonite; Nanocomposite; Layer; Electrical conductivity; Structure

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-016-0077-4

Chemical Papers 71 (2) 317–327 (2017)