Synthesis of polyaniline/clay conducting nanocomposites

• Polymeric matrix nanocomposite.
• Polyaniline/Clay conducting nanocomposites.
• Preparation of nanocomposite polymer by in situ polymerization.
• Synthesis of PAni-MMT nanocomposites.

Nanomaterials have been considered as highly promising materials for various technological applications. In engineering, polymer nanocomposites are a new class of composite materials, where a clay or filler with nanometric dimensions is dispersed in a polymer matrix at low concentration or volume. When added in quantities below 5% in the nanocomposites, clay cause a significant increase in these properties, such as mechanical, optical, magnetic barrier, and especially permeability and flammability resistance. In this context, this work aimed to obtain the polymeric nanocomposites of polyaniline (PAni) with different commercial clays (Cloisite Na+, 10A, 15A, 20A and 30B). The preparation of PAni and montmorillonite (PAni-MMT) nanocomposites was performed by in situ polymerization of aniline in acidic media (HCl). Electrical conductivity measurements, FT-IR, TGA and X-ray diffraction were some of the techniques used to characterize the nanocomposites.