The Effect of Sonication Time on the Properties of Electrically Conductive PANI/Sago Starch Blend Prepared by the One-Pot Synthesis Method

M E Ali Mohsin,Azman Hassan,Nilesh K Shrivastava,Norazah Basar,Agus Arsad

doi:10.3389/fmats.2019.00297

M E Ali Mohsin, Azman Hassan + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmats.2019.00297

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Abstract

This study is part of ongoing research on the preparation of electrically conductive and physically stable Polyaniline/Sago starch (PANI/Sago) blend films using a simple one-pot synthesis method. The synthesis of PANI in the presence of Sago to prepare the PANI/Sago blend was done via in situ polymerization using ultrasound irradiation. For in situ polymerization of PANI/Sago blends, ammonium persulfate (APS) was used as an oxidant while hydrochloric acid (HCl) acted as a dopant. The effect of sonication time (0.5–5 h) on the structural properties (1H NMR and FT-IR), electrical conductivity (E.C), optical properties (UV-VIS), and the morphological (FE-SEM) and thermal stability (TGA) of the prepared PANI/Sago blends was studied. 1H NMR and FT-IR results revealed that the polymerization of PANI/Sago for more than 2 h leads to the disintegration/deformation of Sago starch due to excessive kinetic energy generated via the continuous collapsing of cavitation bubbles. In addition to the findings about Sago starch, FT-IR analysis also revealed the dominance of PANI property for the blend sonicated for 2 h as it contains a sharp and intense PANI peak at 1,500 cm−1, which represents the stretching vibration of benzenoid ring. 1H NMR and FT-IR results were found to be in compliance with E.C results, which showed the E.C of the blend sonicated for 2 h was highest. The UV-Vis results in combination with energy band values, thereby supporting the E.C results. The morphology of the prepared blends was found to be highly connected, which helps with good inter- and intra-chain electron transfers within the blends. The variation in sonication time seems to have very little impact on the thermal stability of the blends, as it was found that all blends were thermally stable up to 200°C, and only minor variation was observed beyond that.

Highlights

Among intrinsically conducting polymers (ICP’s), polyaniline (PANI) is the most promising due to its electrical, chemical, and environmental stability and optical properties (Razak et al, 2013; Gulrez et al, 2014; Dallas and Georgakilas, 2015; Lv et al, 2015)
This study proposes a novel one-pot synthesis method for the polymerization of PANI in the presence of Sago starch, which will be addressed as a PANI/Sago blend throughout this paper, using ultrasonic irradiation
As soon as hydrochloric acid (HCl) is added to the sonicator containing gelatinized starch, the hydrolysis of amorphous regions is initiated, as they are more susceptible to acid attack due to the loose packing of starch chains compared to the crystalline regions; this is termed fast hydrolysis (Wang and Copeland, 2015)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Among intrinsically conducting polymers (ICP’s), polyaniline (PANI) is the most promising due to its electrical, chemical, and environmental stability and optical properties (Razak et al, 2013; Gulrez et al, 2014; Dallas and Georgakilas, 2015; Lv et al, 2015). Researchers have proposed mixing PANI (as a conductive disperse phase) with non-conductive polymers (as a matrix) and preparing blends or composites (Ali et al, 2007; Razak et al, 2013; Gulrez et al, 2014; Lukasiewicz et al, 2014; Lv et al, 2015) Such blends/composites will ease the processability of PANI and at the same time impart physical properties of the insulating host. Preparation of PANI/starch blends or composites is not easy, as obtaining homogeneous dispersion of starch is limited by its tendency to aggregate, regardless of the origin of the starch (Kim et al, 2013) To overcome these limitations, many techniques were proposed; of these, the use of ultrasonic irradiation (U.I), a technique which was proposed by Tischer et al, and Grieser et al, is the best so far (Grieser et al, 1999; Tischer et al, 2010). The thermal stability was analyzed using Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and electrical conductivity was found using a four point probe

Methodology

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION

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