Photo-reduced route of polyaniline nanofiber synthesis with embedded silver nanoparticles

Abstract This work presents a method on the preparation and performance of four silver (Ag) concentrations in polyaniline (PANI) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanocomposite blend (PNPAg). The synthesis of Ag nanoparticles is first performed by photo reduction and then aniline is polymerized in Ag-PVA matrix. Morphological analysis by SEM and TEM reveals formation of nanoparticles with diameter 30–70 nm. Nanocomposites with lower Ag concentrations have highly aligned PNPAg nanofibers of diameter 50–80 nm and agglomeration for the one with higher concentrations. In addition, FTIR spectra show a systematic change in its characteristic peaks with increase in Ag contents. The crystallinity study depicts the tetragonal crystal structure of metallic nanocomposites having same particle sizes as obtained in SEM and TEM. In order to explore the possible applications of these nanocomposites in electronic industry, their electrical properties are investigated. The in-plane I - V characteristics indicate a transition of polymer nanocomposites from non-ohmic to ohmic material with increase of Ag content. The room temperature electrical conductivities are found to be in the range of 4.74 × 10 −4 to 3.96 × 10 −2  S/m with no major difference in activation energy for all nanocomposites.