Synthesis and characterization of polyaniline doped with polyvinyl alcohol by inverse emulsion polymerization

•Polyaniline was synthesized by inverse emulsion polymerization in the presence of various concentration of polyvinyl alcohol.•Increased thermal stability of PANI/PVA as compared to PANI.•Incorporation of PVA increased conductivity and crystallinity of PANI.•The SEM of PANI/PVA composites show irregular shaped particles with variable size. The properties of conducting polymers (CPs) such as polyaniline (PANI) and its derivatives can be modified, improved and even enhanced by making composites with materials which can change the extent and level of doping in the CPs. This paper reports on the synthesis of PANI in the presence of various concentration of polyvinyl alcohol by inverse emulsion polymerization. The as synthesized PANI and PANI/PVA were characterized with UV/VIS, FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM, conductivity and electrochemical measurements. The results demonstrated the formation of polyaniline doped with polyvinyl alcohol showing high thermal stability and improved room temperature conductivity. The synthesized composites were found to be soluble in common organic solvents such as N-methylpyrolidinone (NMP), Chloroform, 2:1 mixture of toluene and 2-proanol, 1:1 mixture of chloroform and toluene and 2:1 mixture of toluene and methanol. Cyclic voltammetric studies showed good redox properties of synthesized PANI and PANI/PVA.