Structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of PANI: Mo13O33 composite prepared by in-situ chemical oxidative method—application to p–n junction diode

Polyaniline (PANI) composites were prepared with PANI and molybdenum oxide by in-situ chemical oxidative method. The prepared samples were characterized through FT-IR, XRD, UV–Vis, and SEM with EDS techniques. Electrical studies were also carried out for the pure PANI and composite samples. The presence of functional groups PANI: Mo13O33 composite is confirmed through related FT-IR spectra. Molybdenum oxide particles incorporated with PANI matrix is confirmed through the XRD analysis. The UV–Vis spectra reveal that the bandgap values of the composite samples are inversely proportional to weight percentage of molybdenum oxide. SEM images show the formation of rock shape and plate like images in Pure PANI and molybdenum oxide, respectively. The EDS spectra clearly show the presence of C, N, O and Mo in the prepared composite samples. The electrical conductivity results show the semiconducting nature of pure PANI and composite samples. From I–V characterization, it is observed that the p-PANI: Mo13O33/n-Si composite samples have non-linearity behavior in forward bias condition. Among the composite samples, PANI: Mo13O33 (20%) shows better non-linearity behavior owing to the presence of rectifying effect.