Preparation and Characterization of Polyaniline Grafted Silica Nanoparticles

Abstract

Polyaniline (PANI) was grafted covalently onto the surfaces of the phenylaminopropyl silica nanoparticles (PASNs) by the in-situ chemical oxidation of aniline with ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) using a dispersion polymerization method. A percentage of grafting (PG%) of 234.0% and a grafting efficiency (GE%) of 54.1% were achieved, calculated from the results of elemental analysis (EA). The polyaniline grafted silica nanoparticles (PANI-SNs) were also characterized by FT-IR, UV/vis, TEM, XPS and TGA. The four probe conductivities were also measured.