Synthesis of Bamboo/Polyaniline Composites by In Situ Polymerization and Their Characteristics

Abstract

Intrinsically conductive bamboo products were polymerized by the impregnation of an aniline monomer solution into a bamboo substrate and the in situ polymerization of PANI to obtain a semi-conducting material; the bamboo products thus obtained combined characteristics of conductivity of the PANI polymer and the strength of natural bamboo. Light microscopy and scanning electronic microscopy images showed that PANI was uniformly dispersed within the cell lumen and cell wall of the bamboo substrate. The weight percent gain and volume bulk increase of the modified bamboo were 5.18 and 14.9%, respectively. Equilibrium uptake studies showed that the modified bamboo was less hydrophilic, caused by the addition of hydrophobic PANI. The electrical conductivity of the bamboo/PANI composite ranged from 3 × 10−4 to 1 × 10−3 S cm−1, which was tuned by changing the phosphate acid concentration. Fourier transform infrared spectra revealed that PANI was closely polymerized onto the cell wall, allowed by the accessibility of the amine groups of the aniline monomer to the hydroxyl groups of the bamboo matrix. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that after the in situ polymerization of PANI, the bamboo cellulose maintained a classic cellulose structure, while its degree of crystallinity was decreased.

Keywords

• Bamboo peeled veneer
• Electrical conductivity
• Polyaniline
• X-ray diffraction
• In situ polymerization