Synthesis, characterization, and properties of new conducting polyaniline/copper sulfide nanocomposites

This article reports the facile synthesis of copper sulfide (CuS)/polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites by in situ polymerization. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-visible and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). SEM analysis showed that the metal sulfide nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix. The characteristic peaks in FTIR and UV-vis spectra of PANI were found to be shifted to higher wave numbers in PANI/CuS composite, which is attributed to the interaction of CuS nanoparticles with PANI chain. XRD pattern revealed the structurally ordered arrangement of polymer composite and this regularity increases with increase in concentration of nanoparticles. Glass transition temperature of the nanocomposite increased with increase in the concentration of nanoparticles and it indicated the ordered arrangement of the polymer composite than PANI. TGA studies indicated excellent thermal stability of polymer nanocomposite. The electrical properties of nanocomposites were studied from direct current and alternating current resistivity measurement. Conductivity, dielectric constant, and dissipation factor of the nanocomposite were significantly increased with the increase in CuS content in the nanocomposite. The enhancement of these properties suggests that the proposed PANI/CuS nanocomposites can be used as multifunctional materials for nanoelectronic devices. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:438-445, 2014. (c) 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers