Self Standing Mats of Blended Polyaniline Produced by Electrospinning
Antonio Fotia,
Angela Malara,
Emilia Paone,
Lucio Bonaccorsi,
Patrizia Frontera,
Giulia Serrano,
Andrea Caneschi
Affiliations
Antonio Fotia
Department of Information Engineering, Infrastructures and Sustainable Energy, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Via Graziella Loc Feo di Vito, 89134 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Angela Malara
Department of Civil, Energy, Environment and Material Engineering, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Via Graziella Loc Feo di Vito, 89134 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Emilia Paone
Department of Civil, Energy, Environment and Material Engineering, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Via Graziella Loc Feo di Vito, 89134 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Lucio Bonaccorsi
Department of Civil, Energy, Environment and Material Engineering, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Via Graziella Loc Feo di Vito, 89134 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Patrizia Frontera
Department of Civil, Energy, Environment and Material Engineering, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Via Graziella Loc Feo di Vito, 89134 Reggio Calabria, Italy
Giulia Serrano
Consorzio Interuniversitario per la Scienza e la Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM), 50121 Firenze, Italy
Andrea Caneschi
Consorzio Interuniversitario per la Scienza e la Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM), 50121 Firenze, Italy
Conducting nanofibers of polyaniline (PANI) doped with camphor-10-sulfonic acid (HCSA) and blended with different polymers, such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), have been fabricated using the electrospinning technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were utilized to characterize the morphology and the thermal stability of PANI-blended fibers. An extensive study was performed to understand the copolymer influence on both the structural and surface properties of the realized conductive thin films. Samples main electrical characteristics, as conductivity, specific capacitance and electrochemical performances were tested. The better mats were obtained with the use of PVAc copolymer, which showed a conductivity value two orders of magnitude higher than the PMMA system. Aiming at further improving the electrochemical features of these blended mats, hybrid fibers based on PANI/PVAc/graphene oxide and PANI/PVAc/iron oxide were also produced and characterized. The obtained mats were potentially addressed to numerous practical fields, including sensors, health applications, smart devices and multifunctional textile materials.