Synthesis and Characterization of Conducting PANDB/χ-Al2O3 Core-Shell Nanocomposites by In Situ Polymerization

Abstract

Polyaniline doped with dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid/χ-aluminum oxide (PANDB/χ-Al2O3) conducting core-shell nanocomposites was synthesized via an in situ polymerization method in this study. PANDB was synthesized in the presence of dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA), which functioned as a dopant and surfactant. The electrical conductivity of the conducting PANDB/χ-Al2O3 core-shell nanocomposite was approximately 1.7 × 10−1 S/cm when the aniline/χ-Al2O3 (AN/χ-Al2O3) weight ratio was 1.5. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results indicated that the χ-Al2O3 nanoflakes were thoroughly coated by PANDB to form the core-shell (χ-Al2O3-PANDB) structure. The TEM and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images of the conducting PANDB/χ-Al2O3 core-shell nanocomposites also indicated that the thickness of the PANDB layer (shell) could be increased as the weight ratio of AN/χ-Al2O3 was increased. In this study, the optimum weight ratio of AN/χ-Al2O3 was identified as 1.5. The conducting PANDB/χ-Al2O3 core-shell nanocomposite was then blended with water-based polyurethane (WPU) to form a conducting WPU/PANDB/χ-Al2O3 blend film. The resulting blend film has promising antistatic and electrostatic discharge (ESD) properties.