Binding energy, structural, and dielectric properties of thin film of poly(aniline-co-m-fluoroaniline)

Semi-transparent and conducting thin film of poly(aniline-co-m-fluoroaniline) has been synthesized by a conventional oxidative copolymerization method using an aqueous solution of aniline, m-fluoroanilne as the monomers and ammonium persulfate as an oxidizing agent. The binding energy and crystalline behavior of copolymer have been characterized by XPS and XRD studies, respectively. The morphological and surface profile characterization has been performed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the thickness of the thin film (50-100 nm) has been studied by transmission electron microscope (TEM). An electrical AC conductivity of the copolymers has been measured in the low- and high-frequency regime. The permittivity of copolymer PA-co-m-FA50 has a higher value than polyaniline in the high-frequency regime and decreases with the increase of frequency. The composition of each copolymer has been confirmed by binding energies of C-C, C-N, and C-F in the XPS study. The dielectric behavior of PA-co-m-FA50 copolymer has been recorded in low- and high-frequency regime.