Mechanical properties of thin polyaniline films

Abstract

The behavior of thin polyaniline emeraldine base films under cold and hot drawing conditions was investigated in a variety of drawing tools. Drawn surfaces were analyzed by atomic force and optical microscopy. It was found that yielding of polyaniline is accompanied by shearbands. There is evidence that the latter play a role in the nucleation of polyaniline crystallization which is known to occur during drawing. Furthermore, several methods to extract mechanical properties using thin polyaniline films have been investigated. It was found that film strips yield and break in the clamps, that dogbone samples are difficult to obtain without edge defects and that a non contact extensometer such as a video extensometer is required to measure thin film mechanical properties. Finally a TMA stress-strain method is investigated.