Reversed micelle Synthesis of Ag/polyaniline nanocomposites via an in situ ultraviolet photo‐redox mechanism

Abstract Silver/polyaniline nanocomposites were synthesized in reversed micellar solution, and the reaction was performed via in situ reduction of silver nitrate in aniline by photolysis. The nanocomposites were characterized by ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, thermo‐gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetric analysis, and electrochemical methods. The results showed that the Ag/polyaniline nanocomposites are composed of nano‐sized particles of 15–30 nm that contain Ag domains of 10–15 nm. The electrical conductivity of an Ag/polyaniline pellet is 95.89 S cm⁻¹, whereas a polyaniline pellet is found to be 3.1 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹. Ag/polyaniline composites also have a higher degradation temperature and specific capacitance, when compared with pure polyaniline. Potentiodynamic polarization showed the anodic shifting of the zero current potential and a lower exchange current density for the Ag/polyaniline composite. Compared with polyaniline, the Ag/polyaniline nanocomposite is a promising candidate for coatings with improved anticorrosion performance. POLYM. COMPOS.,, 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers