Structural, optical and electrical properties of PANI/SnO2 nanocomposites (Part I – prior polyester blending)

Abstract Polyaniline (PANI)/tin oxide (SnO2) nanocomposites at different loading percentages (6, 9, 12 wt %) of SnO2 were synthesized using co-precipitation and solid state reaction methods for analyzing their structural, optical and electrical behaviors. Properties of the resulting nanocomposites like phase identification, grain size, nature of chemical bonds, elemental analysis, optical and electric behavior were determined using different characterization techniques like x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR), Ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) absorption spectroscopy and Hall. With the increased wt % of SnO2, the particle size as well as the homogeneity of the nanocomposites increased. Moreover, the band gap also decreased with increased wt of % SnO2, indicating increased conductivity of PANI/SnO2 nanocomposites. Electrical conductivity decreased with addition of SnO2 initially at lower wt % (6) which later increased at higher wt % (9, 12) of SnO2 in PANI matrix. Further study will be based on polyester based nanocomposites to make an overall comparison between pure PANI/SnO2 and PET/PANI/SnO2 at different weight %.