Electrically conducting fibers were prepared through in situ oxidative polymerization of pyrrole (Py) in the presence of peach palm fibers (PPF) using iron (III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl₃·6H₂O) as oxidant. The polypyrrole (PPy) coated PPF displayed a PPy layer on the fibers surface, which was responsible for an electrical conductivity of (2.2 ± 0.3) × 10⁻¹ S cm⁻¹, similar to the neat PPy. Electrically conductive composites were prepared by dispersing various amounts of PPy‐coated PPF in a polyurethane matrix derived from castor oil. The polyurethane/PPy‐coated PPF composites (PU/PPF–PPy) exhibited an electrical conductivity higher than PU/PPy blends with similar filler content. This behavior is attributed to the higher aspect ratio of PPF–PPy when compared with PPy particles, inducing a denser conductive network formation in the PU matrix. Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) value in the X‐band (8.2–12.4 GHz) found for PU/PPF–PPy composites containing 25 wt% of PPF–PPy were in the range −12 dB, which corresponds to 93.2% of attenuation, indicating that these composites are promising candidates for EMI shielding applications. POLYM. COMPOS., 38:2146–2155, 2017. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers

Pharmaceutical formulations based on polymeric micro/nanoparticles offer multiple advantages for drug delivery applications