Comparative Study of the Structure and Properties of Poly(Vinylidene Fluoride)/Montmorillonite-Polypyrrole Nanocomposites Prepared by Electrospinning and Solution Casting

Abstract

In this work, non-woven mats of poly(vinylidene fluoride; PVDF) containing different weight fractions (2.5, 5, 10, and 12.5 wt%) of a nanostructured conductive additive based on montmorillonite-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid-doped polypyrrole (Mt-PPy.DBSA) have been prepared by electrospinning. The effect of Mt-PPy.DBSA content on the properties of PVDF solution, mats morphology, thermo-mechanical, and electrical properties was investigated. Polymorphism of PVDF/Mt-PPy.DBSA mats was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Moreover, the electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) and EMI attenuation mechanism was investigated. In order to perform a comparative study, nanocomposites with the same weight fraction of Mt-PPy.DBSA was also prepared by solution casting. The PVDF/Mt-PPy.DBSA mats display fibers with smaller diameters than neat PVDF, due to the increment in the ionic conductivity of the solution. The incorporation of the Mt-PPy.DBSA additive slightly improved electrical conductivity of the mats and they behave like as an electrically insulating material (10 −14 S cm −1), due to their porosity, that prevents the formation of a conducting network. Furthermore, the EMI SE of electrospun mats is practically null, indicating that they are almost transparent to magnetic waves. On the other hand, nanocomposites fabricated by solution casting display superior electrical conductivity (10 −2 S cm −1) and EMI SE reached values of −5 dB.

Progress in polymers and polymer composites used as efficient materials for EMI shielding

“…There have also been published results of investigations of the EMI shielding effectiveness of conductive PPy/montmorillonite composites, 112 PPy/thermoplastic polyurethane/montmorillonite composites 113 or PPy/poly(vinylidene flouride)/montmorillonite composites. 114 The results demonstrated that such composites are promising materials for EMI shielding applications.…”

Influence of Sodium Maghnite Nanoclay on the Polyvinylidene Fluoride Crystal Transition in Composite Membranes and Its Effect on Bovine Serum Albumin Protein Extraction

“…The additives formed by combination between nanoclays and polymeric structures has been considered as privileged way for the manufacturing PVDF blended membrane, but several questions are posed for the techniques of synthesis. In this context, research work has been realized by Schiefferdecker et al [14] based on the comparison between electectrospining and casting methods when nanocomposite membranes PVDF/Mt-PPy. DBSA was prepared.…”

Fabrication of in situ polymerized polyaniline‐based functional nanofibrous structures for flexible electromechanical devices

“…Figure3A,B displays SEM images of aligned TPU and TPU/PANI mats, respectively. It was observed that a massive buildup of PANI was present on the fiber surfaces, to the extent that it created a rough and irregular wall-like structure, making the fibers not visible, this indicates successful incorporation of PANI into the TPU matrix 32. …”