Synthesis of Conducting Polymer Nanocomposite

Therefore, simply changing the anionic species in the synthesis solution can give the conducting polymers doped with various dopants. 

Polymer nanocomposites are the materials in which inorganic materials of nanosize in at least one dimension are dispersed in the polymer matrix to enhance certain physical and chemical properties of individual components for various applications. Conducting polymer nanocomposites can be synthesized by the incorporation of inorganic nanoparticles into the matrix of a host-conducting polymer either by chemical or by electrochemical polymerization techniques [28]. 

Structure, Electrical, Chemical Composition and Surface Area 

---

Figure 13.6 schematic representation of synthesis of conducting polymer nanocomposites. 

JJi. Park, M. Atobe, and T. Fuchigami, Sonochemical synthesis of conducting polymer-metal nanoparticles nanocomposite, Electrochim. Acta, 51, 849-854 (2005). 

K.R. Reddy, K.P. Lee, Y. Lee, and A.I. Gopalan, Facile synthesis of conducting polymer-metal hybrid nanocomposite by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization with negatively charged metal nanoparticles. Mat. Letters, 62, 1815-1818 (2008). 

Nowadays a promising way to control the bulk polymer properties, such as conductivity, processability, thermal, and mechanical stabihties, is through the organization of the polymeric chains on the nanometer scale [7-9]. The first approach used to achieve this goal was the synthesis of conducting polymers in cavities of porous hosts. Commonly named nanocomposites, these materials have two or more different components on the nanoscale, and can show catalytic, electronic, magnetic, and optical properties better than those of the individual phases. The basic reason for this synergism is still not fully understood, but it is considered that confinement and electrostatic interactions between the components play an important role. 

This chapter presents an overview of synthesis of conducting polymer-based hybrid nanocomposites with their properties and applications in different fields mainly emphasizing on PPy based materials. Band stmcture of PPy with various synthesis process of PPy based nanostmctures and nanocomposites have been highlighted. Different approaches involving incorporation of metal or metal oxide nanoparticles and carbon-based nanostmctures within conducting polymer matrix... 

As mentioned earlier in situ approach has also been used for the synthesis of conducting polymer-metal hybrid nanocomposites. Xu et al. [35] have reported the decoration of PPy nanotubes with gold nanoparticles by an in situ reduction process. They prepared PPy nanotubes by MO-FeCl3 self-degrade template method and then reduced HAuCLi within PPy nanotubes in the presence of different surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and Tween-80. Nanowires of silver PAni nanocomposites have been reported via in situ polymerization method [36]. In this method aniline is oxidized by ammonium persulfate (APS) in the presence of dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) and silver nitrate (AgN03). In another approach gold-PAni core-shell... 

The properties of the conducting polymer nanocomposites depend on the their structure determined by the interfacial adhesion between conducting polymers and the secondary component as well as the aspect ratio. Therefore, the synthetic strategies for the preparation of conducting polymer nanocomposites are of great importance. A correct selection of the preparation techniques is critical to obtain nanocomposites with suitable properties. The top-down and bottom-up approaches can also be applied for the synthesis of polymer nanocomposites. Direct mixing of nanofiller into polymer matrix in solution for the preparation of polymer nanocomposites is a top-down approach as shown in Fig. 14, in which layered silicate is mixed with polymer. The in situ polymerization of monomer in the presence nanoparticles previously prepared or the in situ polymerization of monomer in the presence of precursor nanoparticles as shown in Fig. 15 are bottom-up approaches. 

The development of conducting polymer (CP) nanocomposites has opened up novel fundamental and applied frontiers. The present chapter overviews recent works dealing with synthesis, characterization of CP nanocomposites, and then-applications related to biosensors. Various synthesis strategies, mechanism, and process parameters along with their characterization techniques are discussed. Some potential areas for biosensor-related applications of CP nanocomposites are highhghted, including catalytic biosensors and bioaffinity biosensors. 

The goal of this chapter is to provide general information on the synthesis and characterization of various conducting polymer nanocomposite materials for energy storage device application with recent development of this new area of research. 

Prom the literature, a wide range of values have been reported for the percolation threshold and electrical conductivity of polymer/CNT composites, depending on the type of CNTs, nanotube functionalization, composite processing method and polymer employed [85,86]. Bauhofer and Kovacs analyzed the effects of experimental conditions, types of CNTs and polymers on the percolation threshold of CNT/polymer nanocomposites. They reported that the type of polymer and CNT dispersion play a more important role than the type and synthesis method of CNTs. Moreover, the electrical conductivity of nanocomposites with fully dispersed and exfoliated MWNTs in the matrix is 50 times higher than that of entangled ones [86]. 

---