Nanostructured polyaniline thin films prepared by plasma polymerization at atmospheric pressure

Hammad R. Humud and Thikra Kh. Aubais

Physical Sciences Research International
Published: November 5 2013
Volume 1, Issue 4
Pages 110-122

Abstract

Plasma polymerization technique includes plasma (state) polymerization which is one of the most powerful methods for surface modification of polymeric materials. Plasma polymerized organic thin films have received a great deal of interest because of their unique characteristics such as: pinhole-free, structurally cross-linked, insoluble and highly adhered. In this work, nanostructures polyaniline (PANI) thin films were prepared by dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet polymerization technique. The dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet local mead for plasma polymerization. The effects of substrate position, working gas flow rate and annealing temperature on thin films properties were studied. The characterization of prepare PANI thin films were performed with the ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The AFM images show that the surface of the PANI thin films consist of grains with average grain size about 100 nm. Electrical and optical properties reveal the conductivity of the PANi thin films at room temperature are nearly 0.68 × 10^-4 S.cm^-1 and the band gap with range of 2 to 2.7 eV depending on prepared conditions. This inexpensive process which is friendly for environment affords a new technique in the field of conducting polymers for coating large substrate areas.

Keywords: Plasma polymerization, non-thermal plasma jet.

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