Preparation of polyaniline/nickel oxide nanocomposites by liquid/liquid interfacial polymerization and evaluation of their electrical, electrochemical and magnetic properties

A novel route has been developed to synthesize polyaniline (PANI)/nickel oxide (NiO) nanocomposites via liquid/liquid interfacial polymerization where NiO and the initiator were dispersed in the aqueous phase and the monomer was dissolved in the organic phase. The synthesized samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, ultraviolet-visible absorption, X-ray diffraction, and electrochemical, electrical conductivity and magnetic property measurements. NiO was dispersed uniformly within the PANI matrix. The composites exhibited noticeable improvement in thermal stability and electrical conductivity in comparison with pure PANI. The composites showed excellent electrochemical reversibility at a scan rate of 0.1 V s(-1) and good redox stability even up to 100 cycles. The room temperature magnetic hysteresis measurements show a low value of coercivity for the polymer composites in comparison with NiO. The remnant magnetization (M-r) values were found to be increased with increasing concentration of NiO in the composites. (c) 2013 Society of Chemical Industry