Blends of polyimide and dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid-doped polyaniline: Effects of polyimide structure on electrical conductivity and its thermal degradation

This paper describes the effects of polyimide (PI) structure on electrical conductivity of blends of dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid-doped polyaniline (PANI-DBSA) and PI, as well as its thermal degradation behavior. Four types of PIs with different molecular architecture were synthesized and subsequently solution blended with PANI-DBSA. Of the four types of PIs, 4-4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DADPS)-based PI provides the highest conductivity to the blends. It is attributed to the rigid nature of DADPS, which may induce more extended conformation of PANI chains, and hence result in a more ordered structure. The conductivity of the blends has significant higher thermal stability than that of PANI-DBSA. The thermal stability is, however, independent on the polyimide structure. TGA studies show that the PI matrix may have hindered the thermo-oxidative degradation and evaporation of the dopants and thus slowed down the process of thermal degradation of the conductivity.