Study of the structure and mechanical properties of pure and doped polyaniline

Polyaniline (PANI) doped with different protonic acids was chemically synthesized using ammonium persulfate as an oxidant. These samples were characterized through scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which confirms the acid doping. Variation of complex elastic modulus and mechanical loss factor (tan δ) has been studied with temperature of pellet of conducting PANI. It has been observed that complex modulus decreases with temperature due to thermal expansion of films. On the other hand, tan δ increases up to characteristic temperature, beyond which it shows a decreasing trend towards melting. The phase transition temperature of pure PANI is 106.1°C and is shifted to higher temperatures i.e. 137.1°C, 134°C, 138.8°C, 118.3°C, and 109.7°C with doping of PANI by protonic acids.