Fabrication and characterization of polyaniline/xanthan gum nanocomposite: Conductivity and thermal properties

A novel conductive and thermally stable nanocomposite was synthesized by oxidative polymerization of aniline in the presence of xanthan gum. The fabricated nanocomposite morphology and structure were examined by atomic forced microscopy (AFM) and FT-IR measurement. The conductivity investigation of novel polyaniline (PANI) based nanocomposite exhibited that xanthan gum (XG) can improve the electrical conductivity up to 2.48 × 10−1 with 2 g xanthan gum in 0.2 mol l−1 aniline solution. Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) was used to study the thermal behavior of nanocomposite. The TGA curves indicated that xanthan gum enhanced the thermal stability of nanocomposite at less than 270 °C and over 350 °C. A problem limiting the application of polyaniline is its hydrophobic property that was solved approximately by the presence of xanthan gum in its nanocomposite. The swelling tests revealed that xanthan gum promoted the hydrophilic property of polyaniline extremely.

► A conductive polyaniline–xanthan gum nanocomposite was synthesized.
► Chemical structure of nanocomposite was examined by FT-IR analyses.
► Thermal stability of nanocomposite increases in the presence of xanthan gum.
► Polyaniline–xanthan gum nanocomposite is more water-soluble than polyaniline.