Abstract:
The structural, thermal, mechanical and dielectric properties of polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) embedded with Polyaniline and graphene (GN) are investigated. The concentration of PANI in PVC is varied from 5 to 30 wt% and in nanocomposites samples GN concentration is varied from 0.1 to 5 wt% in PVC/PANI 15 wt% blend. PVC/PANI blend and nanocomposite samples are prepared using solution casting method. Both, PANI and GN are dispersed well at lower concentrations ≤ 15 wt% and 0.5 wt% respectively, while at higher concentrations, phase speration happen in PVC/PANI blend and agglomerations of GN takes place in the PVC matrix. X-ray diffraction confirms the complete amorphous nature of pure PVC and also confirms the semi-crystalline nature of pure PANI having two characteristic peaks. FTIR confirm the physical interaction of PVC/PANI as the peak intensity decreases in Blends. Differential scanning calorimetry confirmed the increase in Tg of Blends as PANI concentration increases while the Tg decreases as GN is added in PVC/PANI 15 wt% blend due to intercalation that create more free space that increase chain mobility. The mechanical properties like tensile strength and modulus of PVC are increased by the addition of PANI up to 5 wt%. While, at higher concentrations, the mechanical properties are decreased due to the phase separation. Moreover, tensile strength and modulus are decreased by the addition of GN in PVC/PANI-15 wt% blend due to the poor interaction of nanofiller with matrix and agglomeration at higher concentrations. The dielectric properties of PVC in both PANI and GN are increased. However, the values are higher in PVC/PANI/GN system than PVC/PANI system owing to the more conductivity of GN over PANI.
