Synthesis and characterization of a conducting polyaniline/TiO2−SiO2 composites

Polyaniline/TiO₂?SiO₂ composites were prepared by an in situ chemical oxidation polymerization approach in the presence of hybrid TiO₂?SiO₂ fillers. The obtained polyaniline/TiO₂?SiO₂ composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry (TG), and current?voltage (I?V) measurements. SEM picture shows a variation in morphology of polyaniline (PANI) from fiber shape to relatively regular particle shape with increasing TiO₂?SiO₂ contents in the composites. The floccule‐like structures were observed by high resolution TEM, which may help improve the efficiency of conductive network. SEM, XRD, TG, and FTIR spectra all reveal that a relatively strong interaction exist between TiO₂?SiO₂ and PANI. The I?V characteristics in such composites indicate that the charge transport is mainly governed by the space charge effects, which occurs at the interface between the conducting PANI and TiO₂?SiO₂. Meanwhile, PANI/TiO₂?SiO₂ composites exhibit significant increase in conductivity than PANI/TiO₂ or PANI/SiO₂. The reasons about high conductivity of PANI/TiO₂?SiO₂ have also been discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2288–2295, 2013