Effect of molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) on the electrical conductivity of polyaniline

Abstract

In situ polymerization of aniline was carried out in the presence of molybdenum trioxide to synthesize polyaniline/molybdenum trioxide composites (PANI/MoO3) by chemical oxidation method. The composites have been synthesized with various compositions (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 wt%) of MoO3 in PANI. The surface morphology of these composites was studied with scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The PANI/MoO3 composites were also characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The ac conductivity behaviour has been investigated in the frequency range 102-106 Hz. The dc conductivity has been studied in the temperature range from 40 °C to 200 °C and supports the one-dimensional variable range hopping (1D-VRH) model proposed by Mott. The presence of MoO3 in the matrix has a greater influence on the observed conductivity values than that of PANI. The results obtained for these composites are of scientific and technological interest. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.