Route to conducting nanocomposites by simultaneous in situ polymerization of aniline and matrix assembly from bacterial cellulose nanowhiskers

Development of new greener material for conducting paper is sought for applications such as security paper, actuators, and anti-static packaging. It is required that the material for these applications possess low density and good mechanical integrity. This work presents a way to produce bacterial nanocellulose (BC) - polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites by in situ polymerization of aniline in suspension of cellulose nanowhiskers. The BC/PANI composites formed by optimized synthesis of PANI within cellulose nanowhiskers are expected to possess good electrical conductivity in addition to excellent mechanical properties and flexibility. The material has been characterized using FTIR, SEM and 4-probe conductivity measurement equipment