Polyaniline and its composites with carbon nanomaterials: preparation, properties, application

The increased attention of researchers to electrically conductive polymers, including polyaniline (PANI), is due to the wide possibilities of its use in the production of supercapacitors, energy storage devices, anticorrosive coatings, detectors, sensors, solar cells, antimicrobial materials, sorbents, and coatings that absorb electromagnetic radiation. However, the instability of the PANI properties during operation limits the practical use of the polymer. In this regard, to date, many attempts have been made to stabilize the characteristics and increase the service life of polyaniline. Thus, new composite materials, which combine PANI and one or more other components, including carbon nanomaterials (carbon nanotubes, graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, mesoporous carbon), montmorillonite, metals, chalcogenides, conductive polymers,were developed. The purpose of this study is to summarize the information accumulated to date on electrically conductive polyaniline and its composites with carbon nanomaterials (CNM), as well as to demonstrate their potential and future prospects. The paper describes the structure and properties of the polymer. Chemical and electrochemical approaches to the synthesis of PANI and composites based on it are considered, attention is paid to the influence of synthesis conditions on the structure and properties of the final reaction products. A brief description of the application of polyaniline and its composites with CNM is given.