Electrical and spectroscopic characterization of polyaniline–polyvinyl chloride (PANI–PVC) blends doped with sodium thiosulphate

Polyaniline is doped with sodium thiosulphate in aqueous tetrahydrofuran (THF) and the blended films have been prepared by changing the amount of doped polyaniline (PANI) in the fixed amount of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The electrical conductivity of various samples of polyaniline–polyvinyl chloride (PANI–PVC) blends has been studied to see the effect of dopant in the temperature range 300–400 K. Mott's parameters are used to explain the conduction mechanism. Different parameters such as pre-exponential factor (σ0), activation energy (ΔE) and T0 have also been calculated to see the effect of chemical doping. The crystallinity of the blends is explained on the basis of T0. The calculated values of T0 show that crystallinity increases with an increase of doped PANI in PANI–PVC blends. Fourier transform-infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is done to explore the nature and interaction of dopant into the polymeric chain.