Study of polyaniline and water-based polyurethane nanocomposite by TEM, AFM and SNOM

Polymer blends of polyaniline complexes and water-based polyurethane were studied in nanometer scale by TEM, AFM and SNOM. TEM photographs show the distribution of polyaniline complexes. The image of AFM and SNOM show the topography of the blends. The image of SNOM can also show the distribution of conductive emeraldine salt, emeraldine base and pernigraaniline forms. SNOM results show that the conductive polyaniline is distributed around the particles, and the polyaniline base from is distributed in the center of the particle. The results agree with AFM results using phase detector, which show the phase rich in polyurethane is in the center of the particle, and the phase rich in polyaniline salt is around the particle. Combination of TEM, AFM and SNOM provides a good way to study the distribution of conductive polyaniline in the blend.