Evaluation of mechanical and electrical parameters of individual polyaniline nanoparticles

Abstract

Abstract The work function, the static dielectric constant, and the elastic modulus of individual polyaniline nanoparticles in the base form deposited on HOPG were determined. Electrostatic force microscopy was used to determine the electrical parameters. The value of the work function is 4.66 eV. The dielectric constant is 2.2. Contact atomic force microscopy was used to determine Young’s modulus. The modulus of elasticity is 4.42 GPa. The obtained values differ from the typical values obtained on bulk samples of the base form polyaniline. In the case of electrical parameters, this is due to contact phenomena between the conductive substrate and the dielectric nanoparticle. The Young’s modulus of a polyaniline nanoparticle depends on the packing density of the macromolecule, while the Young’s modulus of a compressed tablet depends mainly on the intermolecular forces.