Melt-processed, electrically conductive ternary polymer blends containing polyaniline

Conductive binary and ternary blends containing polyaniline (PANI) were developed through melt blending. The investigation of the binary blends focused on their morphology in light of the interactions between their components and on the resulting electrical conductivity. Similar solubility parameters of PANI and a constituting polymer lead to a fine PANI particle segregated dispersion within that polymer and to the formation of conducting paths at low PANI contents. In ternary blends consisting of PANI and two immiscible polymers, the PANI preferentially locates in one of the phases due to increased interactions between PANI and the preferred polymer. This concentration magnification effect leads to increased electrical conductivity at lower PANI nominal contents. The electrical conductivity of a ternary blend is mainly determined by the effective PANI content in the preferred phase, by the level of PANI fracturing in this phase, and by the details of the conductive network structure created in the co-continuous structure blend.