Electrode Fabrication, Material Characterization and Capacitance Measurement Studies of Polyacrylonitrile/Polypyrrole(PAN/PPY) Composite

Abstract

For the fabrication of the electrode, the Polyvinyl alcohol/polyaniline composite was prepared by the sol-gel method. The electrical conductivity of the composite was determined on compressed pellets by using a 4-in-line-probe dc electrical conductivity-measuring instrument. The electrical conductivity measurement studies revealed that the composite possessed the electrical conductivity in the range of 10-4 to 10-2 S cm-1, i.e., in the semiconductor region and followed the Arrhenius equation. The thermal stability of the composite material (HCl treated) in terms of dc electrical conductivity retention was studied under isothermal conditions (at 50, 70, 90, 110, 130, and 150 °C) at 15 min intervals. The stability of the material (HCl treated) in terms of electrical conductivity retention was also monitored for five cycles at increasing temperatures with 1 h intervals. The composite material was found thermally and environmentally stable in terms of dc electrical conductivity retention.