Characterization of Chemically Synthesized Polyaniline-Polyvinylchloride-Montmorillonite Nanocomposite

Polyaniline-montmorillonite (PANI-MMT) nanocomposite was synthesized by chemical polymerization of aniline in the presence of montmorillonite (MMT) nanostructures. The triple hybrid of polyaniline-polyvinylchloridemontmorillonite (PANI-PVC-MMT) was prepared by mixing of the synthesized PANIMMT nanocomposite with a solution of polyvinylchloride (PVC) in tetrahydrofurane (THF). In addition، PANI-PVC composite was prepared by mixing of pure synthesized PANI and PVC solution in THF. To investigate the mechanical properties، the PANIPVC composite and PANI- PVC-MMT nanocomposite films were prepared with 5، 10 and 15 wt% of pure PANI and PANI-MMT nanocomposite، respectively. The results showed that the PANI- PVC-MMT nanocomposite film having 10 wt% of PANIMMT nanocomposite displayed the best mechanical properties. Therefore، it was chosen as optimum film and its physico-chemical properties were characterized. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique confirmed that the triple hybrid of PANI-PVCMMT nanocomposite was electroactive. Also، Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used to characterize the composition and structure of the PANI-PVC-MMT triple hybrid nanocomposite. X- Ray diffraction (XRD) technique showed an intercalated structure for the PANI-PVC-MMT nanocomposite. The thermal stability improvement of the PANI-PVC-MMT nanocomposite in comparison with the pure PVC was established by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).