Studies on SLS doped polyaniline and its blend with PC

Electrically conductive polyaniline (PANI) and its blend with polycarbonate (PC) was prepared by one‐step emulsion polymerization technique in which sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) acts as surfactant and as a protonating agent for the resulting polymer. The prepared PANI and its blends were characterized by density, percentage of water absorption, and electrical conductivity. PANI–PC blend exhibits a conductivity value of 4.70 × 10−2 S/cm (PANI–PC1) and 5.68 × 10−5 S/cm (PANI–PC3) with a change in dopant from p‐toluene sulfonic acid (TSA) to SLS, respectively. By using a more general method, which takes into account the presence of disorder of the second kind in polymers proposed by Hosemann, crystal size (〈N〉) and lattice strain (g in %) values were estimated. The variation of conductivity in doped PANI and PANI–PC blend has been explained on the basis of these microcrystalline parameters. TGA thermograms of PANI and PANI‐PC blend show three‐step degradation behavior. Thermal stability of PANI was improved after blending with PC. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 383–388, 2001