Polyaniline/silver nanocomposites synthesized via UV–Vis‐assisted aniline polymerization with a reversed micellar microemulsion system

Polyaniline (PANI)/silver (Ag) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized within a sodium dodecyl sulfate reverse micro‐emulsion system and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, ultraviolet spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electrochemical methods. The results show that the core‐shell nanoparticles of less than 100 nm may be synthesized with PANI as shell formed around a core of nanoparticle. PANI/Ag nanocomposite prepared by this method has better thermal stability, higher conductivity, and electrochemical performance. The maximum conductivity (95.5 S/cm) was obtained when W₀ (water‐oil ratio) is 22. Cyclic voltammograms results show that PANI/Ag prepared by this method has a high response current and large capacitance. Polarization results show that E_corr (174.1 mV) and I_corr (50.6 μA/cm²) are better than the results for PANI and for PANI/Ag prepared by micro‐emulsion method. PANI/Ag nanocomposites prepared by the current method have potential applications in electrode materials, capacitors, conductive adhesives, and anticorrosion materials. POLYM. COMPOS. 37:1064–1071, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers