Spectroscopic, morphological, thermal and dielectrical analysis of composite of polythiophene with photoactive transition metal complex of W(IV)

The present work involves the synthesis of polythiophene–potassium octacyanotungstate(IV) dihydrate composite via in-situ oxidative chemical polymerization method using $$\hbox {FeCl}₃$$ as an oxidant. The resulting composite has been subjected to Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy characterization techniques, which confirm the successful synthesis of the composite. XRD shows that the crystalline structure of $$\hbox {K}₄[\hbox {W(CN)}₈]\cdot \hbox {2H}₂\hbox {O}$$ has been retained in the composite. Thermogravimetric analysis data confirm the higher thermal stability of the composite in comparison with pure polythiophene, thus allowing it to be used as a promising material for high-temperature application purposes. Dielectric studies reveal that the dielectric constant and ac-conductivity of the composite increased by several orders of magnitude as compared with pure polythiophene at all frequencies, thus showing that the material can be used for various applications in the fields of charge storage devices and high-frequency device applications, and can also serve as a potential candidate for solar cell applications.