| Summary: | In this work, conductive fabrics-based polyaniline (PANI) were fabricated using a facile method namely, immersion. Fabrics such as cotton and polyester (PES) were immersed in PANI solution followed by a drying process. In order to make the fabric conductive, the dopant was added into the polymer beforehand. The doping was completed by treating with HCl prepared in 0.3 v/v%, 0.6 v/v% and 0.9 v/v% concentrations. Consequently, the colour of PANI Emeraldine Base (EB)-blue transformed into green, characteristic of PANI Emeraldine Salt (ES). Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) and Electro Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were used to analyse the morphology and conductivity of fabricated fabrics, respectively. FESEM analysis revealed the distribution of precipitates was homogenous in PES which provided better surface area and gave a strong bonding with the acid, compared to cotton. Electro Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) results revealed that doping with 0.9 v/v% HCl gave excellent conductivity compared to 0.3 v/v% on PES fabric. The thermal properties of doped fabrics was analysed using Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). TGA analyses displayed three major stages of weight losses in the conductive fabrics, in which PANI in PES showed a major impact on the shift of degradation point, suggesting that a more stable fabric has been fabricated. Collectively, this study has presented a simple approach to produce a conductive fabric utilizing PANI as the conducting agent.
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