Thermal stability, morphological, dielectric, and conductivity characteristics of pyrrole modified poly-N-vinyl carbazole

N-vinyl-Carbazole (NVC) has been polymerized in the presence of pyrrole (PY) by anhydrous ferric chloride. The copolymer has been characterized by IR Spectroscopy. Thermal stability of P(PY–NVC) is intermediate between that of PNVC and PPY, respectively. DSC reveals a single glass transition break at 180–200°C for P(PY–NVC), which is higher than the Tg for polypyrrole (∼ 165°C), but is lower than that for PNVC (∼ 227°C). The XRD analysis reveals PPY to be totally amorphous and shows the percent crystallinity for P(PY–NVC) to be less than that of PNVC. Dielectric constants of the polymers follow the trend: PPY > P(PY–NVC) > PNVC, and fall sharply with the applied frequency to a limiting value. The polymers are characterized by a broad dielectric relaxation. DC conductivity is dependent on temperature and FeCl3/polymer mole ratio and at a particular temperature follows the trend: PPY > P(PY–NVC) > PNVC. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.