Water-dispersible conducting nanocomposites of polyaniline and poly(N-vinylcarbazole) with nanodimensional zirconium dioxide

Water-dispersible composites of polyaniline (PANI) and poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PNVC) with nanodimensional ZrO2 were prepared. The incorporation of the polymers in the composites was endorsed by FTIR studies. SEM analyses revealed distinct morphological features of the composites. TEM analyses confirmed the particle sizes to be in the 300–500 nm range for PNVC–ZrO2 and in the 250–300 nm range for the PANI–ZrO2 composites, respectively. TG analyses revealed the enhanced stabilities of the nanocomposites relative to the base polymers. DC conductivities of the PNVC–ZrO2 composites were in the order of (1–1.5)×10−5 S/cm, which were 107–1010-fold improved relative to the base polymer. The same for the PANI–ZrO2 composite were in the range of (0.03–0.35)×10−2 S/cm values increasing with increasing polymer loading in the composites.