Morphological development of nanofibrillar composites of polyaniline and carbon nanotubes

Nanofibrillar composite of polyaniline (PANI)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) is readily synthesized by means of conventional in situ polymerization process. It is found that the MWNT loading during polymerization has a significant influence on both the micro- and macro-scale morphological properties of the composites. At low MWNT loadings, PANI/MWNTs are formed as individual nanofibers, similar to that of the neat PANI in the absence of MWNTs. With the increase in MWNT loading, the composite exhibits granular form and becomes a continuous porous matrix at higher MWNT loadings. A possible mechanism is proposed to account for the structural variation of the composites caused by MWNTs at the different loadings.