Cationic scavenging by polyaniline: Boon or bane from synthesis point of view of its nanocomposites

This work establishes the fact that Polyaniline (PANI) contributes to cationic scavenging on the polymerization of a cross linking polymer, i.e. Divinylbenzene (DVB), resulting in a significant change in the properties of the PANI-based DVB resin system. Furthermore, it is also shown that the cationic scavenging is directly related to the degree of doping of PANI and its dispersion state. Various intermediate doped PANI was added with a fixed amount of DVB to prepare thermosetting matrices. The degree of doping of PANI was assessed with the DSC, FT-IR, and UV-VIS-NIR analyses before mixing with DVB matrix. It has been shown that the Polyaniline (PANI) agglomerates broke and a uniform dispersion was obtained with an increased degree of doping, which led to more exposed amines groups of PANI. These groups acted as scavengers to the cationic polymerization of the DVB monomer. DSC and viscosity measurement of the uncured PANI-DBSA/DVB resin system confirmed the scavenging effect of PANI on the curing profile and subsequently to the electrical and mechanical properties of the cured composites. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the scavenging behavior of PANI in the context of preparing PANI-based polymer composites.