Improvement of Electrical Conductivity and Thermal Stability of Polyaniline-Maghnite Nanocomposites

Abstract

A new nanocomposite based on conducting polyaniline (PANI) and Algerian montmorillonite clay dubbed Maghnite is proposed to combine conducting and thermal properties (Mag). The PANI-Mag nanocompo-sites samples were made by in situ polymerization with CTABr (cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide) as the clay galleries' organomodifier. In terms of the PANI-Mag ratio, the electrical and thermal properties of the obtained nanocomposites are investigated. As the amount of Maghnite in the nanocomposite increases, thermal stability improves noticeably, as measured by thermal gravimetric analysis. The electric conductivity of nanocomposites is lower than that of free PANI. As the device is loaded with 5 % clay, the conductivity begins to percolate and decreases by many orders of magnitude. The findings show that the conductivity of nanocomposites is largely independent of clay loading and dispersion.