Electrically conductive nonwoven materials produced by electrospinning of polyaniline and bulk polymers

Electrically conductive micro- and nanofibrous nonwoven materials were obtained by electrospinning of solutions of polyaniline and a number commodity polymers (polyamide-6, polylactic acid, polystyrene, polyethylene oxide). The average fiber diameter is in the range of 0.5–6 μm, while the addition of polyaniline into the spinning solution leads to a decrease in fiber diameter. The composition of the obtained materials was confirmed by IR spectroscopy. It was found that during the electrospinning process the supramolecular structure of polyamide-6 and polylactide changes (from α-phase to γ- and amorphous phases, respectively), and polyaniline does not form crystalline structures. The specific electrical conductivity of the obtained nonwoven fabrics can reach 10−3 S/cm, which allows their application both in tissue engineering and in organic electronics.