Synthesis and application properties of polyaniline-amino-carbon nanotube antistatic agents

Emulsion polymerization was used to create composites of polyaniline-amino-carbon nanotubes (PANI-A-CNT). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to examine the chemical bonding properties of PANI and carbon nanotubes in composite materials. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to confirm that the PANI layer on the core-shell structure of PANI-A-CNT material was nanoscale in size. In order to assess the impact of various carbon nanotube contents on the electrostatic and mechanical properties of the composites, pristine carbon nanotube/ABS (p-CNT/ABS) and PANI-A-CNT/ABS composites were prepared. The mass fractions of PANI and CNT in PANI-A-CNT were 93.7 and 6.3 wt%, respectively, according to thermogravimetric analysis (TGA); hence, 4 wt% of PANI-A-CNT included 0.3 wt% CNT and 3.7 wt% PANI. The surface resistance test revealed that the PANI-A-CNT/ABS composite with 4 wt% PANI-A-CNT has a surface resistance of 10⁸ Ω, which is one time less than the surface resistance of the p-CNT/ABS composite with 4 wt% p-CNT. Moreover, PANI-A-CNT/ABS composite (0–4 wt% PANI-A-CNT) has stronger tensile and impact properties than p-CNT/ABS composite (0–4 wt% p-CNT), expanding the range of applications for ABS resin.