Investigation of Structural and Electrical Properties of Polyaniline/Gold Nanocomposites

Gold nanoparticles are synthesized by the reduction of gold salt using extract of tea leaves in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) solution. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the formation of gold nanoparticles having average size of similar to 20 nm. These nanoparticles have been incorporated in NMP solution of polyaniline emeraldine base (PANIEB) to cast the nanocomposite films. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the thermal stability of the nanocomposites has improved as compared to the pure PANI. TEM confirmed the presence of gold nanoparticles in polyaniline matrix. The impedance spectroscopic studies showed that gold nanoparticles have considerable effects oil the electrical properties of PANI by reducing the charge trapping centers and increasing Conducting channels, which causes substantial decrease in the real part of impedance.