Synthesis and characterisation study on polyaniline-SFA-Ag nanocomposite with plasma surface treatment

AbstractIn-situ polymerisation of aniline was carried out in the presence of Sintered Fly Ash to synthesise polyaniline-SFA-Ag (IPANI-SFA-Ag) nanocomposite by chemical oxidation method with various compositions (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt %) of fly ash in polyaniline. The synthesised composite film was surface modified by DC glow discharge plasma to improve the surface properties of IPANISFA-Ag nanocomposite. The prepared composite films were characterised by FTIR, XRD, SEM, UV and DC conductivity analysis. From FTIR analysis, some new bonds, like C=O, C-H., were observed in the plasma-treated samples. An XRD analysis report shows that the Ag nanoparticles were in good agreement with IPANI and the intensity of the composite has increased after plasma treatment. The calculated average grain size of the composite was 38 nm; also the specific surface area of both samples was (SSA) 26 m2 g-1.