Transport Properties Of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes Based Conducting Polythiophene/ Polyaniline Nanocomposites 

Abstract

In this paper, we report the influence of functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on transport properties of conducting polymers polythiophene (PTH) and polyaniline (PANI). Nanocomposites based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes were synthesized by in-situ oxidative polymerization of thiophene/aniline monomer in the presence of functionalized MWCNTs. These nanocomposites have been characterized by SEM, UV-VIS, FTIR, and XRD to study the effect of incorporation of MWCNTs on the morphology, structure and crystalline of the conducting polymers. Nanocomposites have shown high electrical conductivity compared to that of pure PTH/PANI. The enhancement in conductivity of the nanocomposites is due to the charge transfer effect from the quinoid rings of the PTH/PANI to the MWCNT. The effect of MWCNT on the transport properties of PTH and PANI was systematically studied and compared in terms of transport parameters. Charge localization length and most probable hopping distance were found to be decreased with wt % of CNT, whereas the charge hopping energy was found to be increased in nanocomposites. The improved transport properties of both the types of nanocomposites due to incorporation of CNT in conducting polymer matrix can be utilized for solar cells, capacitors, electronic devices as well as chemical sensors.