Synthesis and characterization of electrically conductive and fluorescent poly(N-[5-(8-hydroxyquinoline)methyl]aniline)/V2O5 xerogel hybrids

Poly(N-[5-(8-hydroxyquinoline)methyl]aniline)-intercalated vanadium pentoxide xerogel hybrids (PNQA/V2O5) were synthesized by in situ intercalative polymerization method. The results showed that the V2O5 maintains lamellar structure, but its interlayer spacing had increased from 1.18 to 1.76 nm. The electrical conductivity of the freshly prepared PNQA/V2O5 hybrid was 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of V2O5 xerogel. It was found that the aging in air facilitated the chain growth of PNQA between the V2O5 lamella, resulting in the increase in the electrical conductivity. The fluorescent analysis indicated that the emission band of the hybrid was red-shifted 19 nm in comparison with pure PNQA, and the quantum yield of the PNQA/V2O5 hybrids is 2–3 times higher than that of PNQA in ethanol.