In situ template polymerization of aniline on the surface of negatively charged TiO2 nanoparticles

Abstract The in situ oxidative template polymerization of aniline was performed successfully on the surface of negatively charged titania (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 40 nm using ammonium persulfate and a Chem-Solv solution at pH 1 and 25 °C. SEM showed that the resulting polyaniline (PANI)/TiO 2 composites were well dispersed in solution due to the electrostatic repulsion force. Ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry showed that the optical, thermal, and electrical properties of PANI/TiO 2 composites were quite different from those of pure PANI or TiO 2 , which was attributed to the strong interaction between the two components. The conductivity of the PANI/TiO 2 composite was estimated to be 0.91 × 10 −1  S/cm at 25 °C in the range of semiconductor.