Nanodiamond-mediated crystallization in fibers of PANI nanocomposites produced by template-free polymerization: Conductive and thermal properties of the fibrillar networks

The detonation nanodiamond is a novel versatile nanomaterial with tunable properties and surface chemistry. In this work, we report on a template-free method to synthesize polyaniline based nanocomposite fibers during a chemical oxidative precipitation polymerization where the cooperative interactions between nanodiamond and polyaniline nucleates trigger the final morphology of the nanocomposite. FE-SEM and TEM observations evidence the prominent growth of fibril-like structures assembled in 2-D networks of tightly woven, partially oriented fibers. Optical and Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses reveal that the polymer chains are in a protonated emeraldine form and organize themselves in a highly ordered 3-D spatial arrangement. Conductivity measurements performed on isolated fibers by a conductive tip of an AFM apparatus highlight that the diamond filler does not affect the conductive properties of the polyaniline matrix while increases the thermal stability of the polymer as confirmed by TGA studies.