TOWARDS OPTIMIZATION OF ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF POLYANILINE - IS CROSS-LINKING BETWEEN CHAINS THE KEY

A distinction has been made experimentally between the effect on conductivity and tensile strength caused by 1-D mechanical alignment of parent polyaniline films and the effect produced by dic combination of physical crosslinking by crystalline domains and associated 1-D nematic-type alignment of amorphous material. At least in die case of films, a small amount of alignment in amorphous regions results in surprisingly large increases in conductivity and tensile strength; however, extensive crosslinking by crystalline domains and associated 1-D nematic alignment in amorphous regions is necessary in order to optimize interchain electrical and mechanical properties.