Electromechanical Behavior of Conductive Polyaniline/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Blend Films Under Uniaxial Loading

Polyaniline (PANI) an electronically conducting polymer, and its charge transfer complexes are interesting engineering materials due to their unique electronic conductivity, electrochemical behavior, low raw material cost, ease of synthesis and environmental stability in comparison with other conjugated polymers. The main disadvantage of PANI is its limited processability. Blending of conducting polymers with insulating polymers is a good choice to overcome the processability problem. In this study a solution-blend method is adopted to prepare conductive polyaniline/polyvinyl alcohol (PANI/PVA) blend films at various blend ratios. Interest in applications for polyaniline (PANI) has motivated investigators to study its electro mechanical properties, and its use in polymer composites or blends with common polymers. The work described here looks at the uniaxial deformation behavior of the conducting polymer films and the anisotropic dependency of electrical conductivity of the blend films exposed to static and dynamic loading conditions. The relation between mechanical strain, electrical conductivity and film microstructure is investigated on PANI/PVA blend films.