Effects of Microstructural Changes by Injection Velocity Variations on Conductivity in Polyaniline-Based Polymer Blends

Polyaniline doped with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (PANI-DBSA)/high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) blends were injection molded with increasing velocity, in order to understand how shear stress-induced microstructural changes influence polymer conductivity. The results showed the changes in the chain conformation from a compact coil to an expanded coil in PANI, increased degree of polymer orientation along the flow direction, and increase in the degree of crystallinity on the skin, but not on the core with increasing injection velocity. The blends, in which the microstructure is anisotropic, exhibited anisotropic conductivity between the skin and core (σskin/σcore).