Improving the electroconductivity and mechanical properties of cellulosic paper with multi-walled carbon nanotube/polyaniline nanocomposites

Cellulose is the most abundant renewable polymer in the nature, and cellulosic paper is widely used in our daily life. Conferring electroconductivity to cellulosic paper would allow this conventional material to hold great promise for a wide range of energy-related applications. In the present work, multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites were synthesized via in situ oxidation polymerization process and characterized by FT-IR and TEM. Subsequently, the application of the synthesized MWCNT/PANI nanocomposites as a wet-end filler for the production of electro-conductive paper was demonstrated/developed. Results showed that the cellulosic paper was imparted with an electro-conductivity of up to 0.14 S·m^-1 while exhibiting a pronounced improvement in mechanical properties as a function of the added MWCNT/PANI nanocomposites.