Characterization of Polyaniline/Ag Nanocomposites Using H2O2 and Ultrasound Radiation for Enhancing Rate

Polyaniline/Ag nanocomposites have been synthesized via in situ chemical oxidation polymerization of aniline in silver salt by sonochemical method using H2O2 as an external medium. H2O2 was used to reduce AgNO3 to Ag nanoparticles as well as to polymerize aniline to polyaniline in the same pot. The ultrasound radiation as an energy source was applied to facilitate the reaction by reducing the reaction time. Reduction of the silver salt in aqueous aniline leads to the formation of silver nanoparticles which in turn catalyze oxidation of aniline to polyaniline. The research on the structures and properties of the composites showed the individual or aggregated silver nanoparticles are dispersed in the matrix of polyaniline. The composites possess a higher degradation temperature than polyaniline alone, and their electrical conductivity are raised more than 200 times. The cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy results showed that the polyaniline/Ag film exhibits considerably higher electroactivity compared with polyaniline film without Ag particles. POLYM. COMPOS., 31:1662-1668, 2010. (C) 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers