In-situ synthesis and characterization of polyaniline -CaCu3Ti4O12 nano crystal composites

High dielectric constant nano composite of Polyaniline (PANI) CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) was synthesized using a simple procedure involving in-situ polymerization of aniline in dil. HCl. The PANI and the composite were subjected to X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, Thermo gravimetric, Scanning electron microscopy and Transmission electron microscopy analyses. The presence of the nano crystallites of CCTO embedded in the nanofibers of PANI matrix was established by TEM. Frequency dependent characteristics of the dielectric constant, dielectric loss and AC conductivity were studied for the PANI and the composites. The dielectric constant increased as the CCTO content increased in PANI but decreased with increasing frequency of measurement. The dielectric loss was two times less than the value obtained for pure PANI around 100Hz. The AC conductivity increased slightly upto 2kHz as the CCTO content increased in the PANI which was attributed to the polarization of the charge carriers.

P. Thomas, K. Dwarakanath, K. B. R. Varma · 2013