Polyaniline/TiO2/kaolinite: The composite material with high electrical anisotropy

Abstract

Kaolinite–TiO2 nanocomposite matrix (KATI) coated with polyaniline (PANI) layer has been prepared in powder form and pressed into tablets. The conductivity was studied in dependence on (1) wt.% of TiO2 in KATI matrix and (2) thermal pre-treatment of KATI matrix. The anisotropy factor α, i.e. the ratio of in-plane conductivity and conductivity in the direction perpendicular to the tablet plane, was found to be very high for PANI/KATI tablet (α is of the order of 103–104) in comparison with pure PANI tablet (α is of the order of 102). Structure has been studied using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy and molecular modeling. The possibility of using the tablets as a load sensors have been tested and tablets pressed from composites containing calcined KATI seem to be promising material for this purpose.