Polybutadiene Modified Polyaniline Microparticles

Polyanionic rubber copolymer microparticles covered with positively charged polyaniline (PANi) as the shell were synthesized. Sodium 4-styrenesulfonate was polymerized in a free radical initiation mechanism in the presence of a low molecular weight hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene (HT-PBD) matrix, which was dispersed in ethylene glycol (EG). Polymerization of aniline monomers was carried out using ammonium persulfate as the oxidant in aqueous hydrochloric acid containing polyanionic rubber copolymer microparticles. The resulting rubber-modified PANi products form a stable and uniform aqueous latex suspension, with a PANi shell loading of 16-58% by weight. From a core-shell microparticle latex suspension containing a PANi loading up to 37% by weight, conductive thin films with good quality can be fabricated by casting. Conductivity of these cast films, after storage for a week in a desiccator, was found to be 0.1 S/cm. These results demonstrated a promising method for the fabrication of conducting polymers with the coexistence of elastic properties in the latex phase of the rubber core and requisite electrical properties of the PANi shell.