• Zbaida, David
• Tenne, Reshef
• Voldman, Alla

Abstract

<p>Polymer-inorganic nanoparticle composites are an area of great research interest. Inorganic fullerene-like (IF) structures and inorganic nanotubes (INT) are used for producing composite materials with specific goals of reinforcement of the polymer and ameliorating its thermal stability. Here, a composite material containing INT and conducting polymer (polyaniline (PANI)) is synthesized by an in situ oxidative polymerization of the monomer in the presence of WS₂ nanotubes. The structure and electrical behavior of PANI/INT composite is studied and compared with the results of pristine PANI (synthesized under the same conditions without INT). Most remarkably, INT-WS₂ are found to play the role of an active doping agent. The highest conductivity is obtained for 0.85 wt% (ca. 0.06 at%) nanotubes content, two orders of magnitude higher than that of pristine PANI. This work suggests a new approach to control the host-guest interaction in the polymer nanocomposite via (Lewis) acid-base equilibrium. A composite material containing WS ₂ nanotubes (INT-WS₂) and conducting polymer (polyaniline (PANI)) is obtained by an in situ oxidative polymerization of the monomer in the presence of the INT-WS₂. Electron transfer from PANI to the INT-WS₂ is shown to produce a peak in the conductivity at 0.85 wt% (0.2 at%) of the nanotubes.</p>

Topics

• nanoparticle
• nanocomposite
• impedance spectroscopy
• polymer
• nanotube