Fabrication and properties of polyaniline/ramie composite fabric based on in situ polymerization

Polyaniline (PANI) is one of the most important conducting polymer and has been widely used in various fields for its tunable electrical conductivity. In this manuscript, conductive polyaniline/ramie fabrics were developed by in situ polymerization and characterized. The effect of aniline content, polyetherimide (PEI) pretreatment, padding and the color depth (K/S value) on electrical resistivity was analyzed. The result showed that electrical conductivity was increased with the increase of aniline (ANI) contents. PEI pretreatment and padding method improved the conductivity of the fabric significantly. The result of K/S value was reversely consistent with the conductivity. Both scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirmed that polyaniline particles were successfully deposited on the surface of the ramie fabrics. Thermal degradation (TG) measurement showed that polyaniline (PANI) polymerization decreased the onset decomposition temperature. Mechanical measurement showed that pretreatment process reduced the tensile strength of conductive ramie fabrics by 30%. K/S value in full range showed that the color of PANI/ramie fabric was sensible to pH value. Contact angle (CA) measurement disclosed the conductive PANI/ramie fabric was hydrophobic and this hydrophobicity was stable to the change of pH value. The obtained PANI/ramie fabrics can be used as potential conductive multifunctional textiles.