Temperature Dependent Electrical Transport Characteristics of Polyaniline Films Modified with Gold nanoparticles

Abstract The present work reports the modification of the electrical properties of conducting polymer polyaniline (PA) with the introduction of gold nanoparticles (Au NP) into the polymer matrix. The nanocomposites of polyaniline and gold nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized using conventional chemical polymerization technique, where gold nanoparticles have been added in different successive weight percents. The dielectric measurements as a function of temperature have been carried out on these composite samples in the frequency range 20 Hz-1 MHz. The dielectric relaxation characteristics of the prepared samples have been examined by analyzing dielectric spectroscopy, dielectric loss and electrical conductivity spectroscopy. Perusal of the dielectric data depicts that the dielectric permittivity of the samples increases with an increase in the temperature and nanoparticles content. The frequency dependent ac conductivity has been analyzed using Jonscher’s universal power law relation. The power law exponent (s) has been found to be composition and temperature dependent. The decrease in s with an increase in temperature suggested that the ac conduction mechanism of these samples follows the correlated barrier hopping (CBH) model. The improved dielectric constant of nanocomposite suggests its increased ability to store electric potential energy under the impact of alternating electric field