Preparation and Characterization of In-Situ Polymerized Nanocomposites Based on Polyaniline in Presence of MWCNTs

Summary: Polyaniline (PANI) composites were prepared with both unmodified and amine modified MWCNTs with and without BaTiO₃ through in-situ oxidative polymerization. Uniform coating of PANI on the MWCNTs and BaTiO₃ surfaces was found which was evident from the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopic (FESEM) and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopic (HRTEM) images. The structure of pure and amine modified MWCNTs was identified by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The thermal stability of the amine modified composite with BaTiO₃ is higher than that of the unmodified composite because of the better affinity between modified MWCNTs and polymer matrix and due to the higher stability of barium titanate itself. The capacitance of amine modified MWCNTs and BaTiO₃ composites was less than that of the pure MWCNTs composites but the thermal stability increased in amine modified MWCNTs and BaTiO₃ composites with respect to the pure MWCNTs composites. The maximum capacitance and energy density values were found in MWCNT/PANI composites which were equal to 523.20 F/g and 142.83 Wh/kg respectively at a scan rate of 10mv/s. Maximum power density was found to be 5147.70 W/kg in the same composite at a scan rate of 200 mv/s.