Electrical conductivity and spectroscopic characterization of Blends of poly(2-chloroaniline)/polyaniline P(2ClANI)/PANI copolymer with PVC exposed to gamma-rays

•P(2ClANI)/PANI copolymer nanoparticles have been synthesized.•PVC/P(2ClANI)/PANI copolymer blend films showing radiochromic behavior were prepared.•Three orders of magnitude increase in conductivity of composite films was obtained upon γ-irradiation of up to 200 kGy.

Poly(2-chloroaniline)/polyaniline P(2ClANI)/PANI) random copolymer was synthesized in the form of nanoparticles by chemical routes. Incorporation of P(2ClANI) into PANI backbone significantly increased the solubility of copolymer in THF. Thin PVC/P(2ClANI)/PANI blend films were prepared by solvent casting and subsequently exposed to gamma-rays. Conductivity measurements on the irradiated blend films of PVC/P(2ClANI)/PANI showed that conductivity was increased from 10–8 S/cm to 10–5 S/cm when irradiated to radiation dose of up to 200 kGy. The increase in conductivity was also revealed by FTIR and UV–vis spectra.