Pristine cardanol as biobased dopant for polyaniline

Cardanol is a well-known natural phenol bearing a long aliphatic chain. It is obtained from cashew nut shell liquid, a cheap and abundant by-product of the cashew industry. From the viewpoint of conserving the environment and searching for an alternative to petroleum, it represents one of the most promising renewable resources that could be used to replace petro-based phenolic compounds in many applications. Moreover, acidic properties of cardanol broadens the spectrum of its benefits. In this work, the potential of cardanol as a primary dopant to synthesize conductive polyaniline and substitute for conventional acids such as HCl or DBSA to achieve an environmentally friendly alternative was demonstrated.