Ultrasonic characterization of conductive epoxy resin/polyaniline composites

This study presents the ultrasonic characterization of conductive epoxy resin (ER)/polyaniline (PANI) composites. The prepared PANI is mixed with ER matrix at weight percentages of 5%, 10%, and 15% for preparing the ER/PANI composites. The effects of PANI amount on the mechanical properties of ER/PANI composites are investigated by ultrasonic pulse-echo-overlap method. Also, electrical conductivity, ultrasonic wave velocity and ultrasonic micro-hardness values of ER/PANI composites are correlated. Experimental results show that there is an excellent correlation between ultrasonic micro-hardness and ultrasonic shear wave velocity. Also, the results of ultrasonic velocities and elastic constants values illustrate that the appropriate combination ratio is 95 : 5 for ER and PANI in ER/PANI composites. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42748.