Preparation and Characterization of PAni‐PMMA Dispersions

Abstract

Blends of polyaniline (PAni) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) have been produced using core‐shell particle synthesis, which is advantageous because it allows changing surface‐related properties of PMMA with relatively small amounts of PAni and without the use of organic solvents. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements indicated that the deposition of polyaniline seems to alter the regular shape of the primary acrylic latex particles. The coverage of PMMA particles by PAni was confirmed by FTIR measurements, where distinct data were obtained from the transmission and diffuse reflectance modes, since the latter is surface sensitive. The zeta potential, which is also a surface‐related property, increased with the contents of PAni, as the shells probably became protonated with PAni in the emeraldine salt form. Coverage with PAni did not affect the thermal bulk properties of the PMMA shells.

Keywords:

• Polyaniline
• poly(methyl methacrylate)
• core‐shell particles
• zeta potential

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Brazil's Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), FAPESP, Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia (MCT), Fundação Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Banco do Nordeste, and Pró‐Reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (PROPESQUFRN) for financial support during the course of this work. The authors also thank Metacril for supplying MMA for this work.