Polyaniline/Graphite Nanosheets Composites and its Conducting Properties

A facile process for the preparation of polyaniline/graphite nanosheets (PANI/NanoG) composites was developed. Natural flake graphite (NG) was exfoliated into expanded graphite (EG) via an acid intercalation and the NanoG was prepared by treating the EG with sonication in alcohol solution. The composites were fabricated via in situ polymerization of aniline (ANI) monomer in the presence of NanoG. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the structures of NanoG and composites. Results showed that the nanoscale structure of NanoG formed conducting network in PANI matrix. The percolation threshold of PANI/NanoG composites at room temperature was as low as 0.5 vol.%, much lower than that of the PANI/EG (1.6 vol.%) and PANI/NG (1.5 vol.%) composites. Electrical conductivity measurements indicated that the conductivity of PANI/NanoG composites increased greatly compared with PANI/EG and PANI/NG composites.