Conducting polyaniline–montmorillonite composites

Polyaniline (PANI)–montmorillonite (MMT) composites were prepared in two ways: (a) by the polymerization of aniline hydrochloride with ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) in aqueous suspensions of MMT, (b) by the intercalation of aniline hydrochloride into MMT in aqueous suspension followed by the oxidation with APS, i.e. by the surface and intercalative polymerizations of aniline. The products were analyzed by SEM, XRD, TGA, FTIR and Raman spectroscopies. The formation of red coloration after interaction of MMT with aniline is discussed. The conductivity of PANI–MMT composites increased to units S cm−1 as the content of PANI reached 50–60 wt.%. The intercalation of aniline into MMT before the polymerization had no marked effect on the conductivity of resulting composites, which was determined mainly by the PANI present at the MMT particles surfaces.