Synthesis and characterization of electromagnetic properties of polypyrrole nanorods prepared via self-reactive MnO2 template

Abstract Intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) due to special properties are promised in various applications, especially for radar absorbing materials (RAM). In the present paper, the dielectric and microwave absorbing properties of polypyrrole nanorods (PPyNR)/paraffin composite have been investigated in the frequency range of 2–18 GHz, for the first time. Also a simple route was successfully used for the chemical synthesis of PPy via a reactive template of α-MnO 2 . For this purpose, the reactive template of MnO 2 was prepared by a facile hydrothermal method at 150 °C. The synthesized α-MnO 2 was used as oxidizing agent for polymerization reaction of PPy. The XRD patterns confirmed that the MnO 2 template consumed as an initiator almost completely. In the SEM images, the α-MnO 2 sample was composed of uniform nanorods and the PPy nanostructures were inherited their morphologies from the MnO 2 templates. Microwave absorbing studies of PPyNR/paraffin composite indicated the remarkable EM wave absorption property with the maximum reflection loss (around −50 dB) at about 10 GHz at a thickness of 3.1 mm. Microwave absorption result showed that these nanocomposites had excellent intrinsic potential for various microwave absorbing applications.