Synthesis of polypyrrole–ferric oxide (Ppy–Fe2o3) composites and study of their structural and conducting properties

Conducting polypyrrole/α-ferric oxide (PPy–Fe2O3) composites have been prepared using chemical oxidative polymerization with different weight percentages of α-ferric oxide (10–30 wt.%) dispersed during polymerization of pyrrole. These composites were characterized by FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, conductivity and scanning electron microscopy. Four-probe method was used to study the effect of doping on DC-conductivity of the composites. The dispersion of α-Fe2O3 in these composite imparts good structural and electrical properties in PPy. The percolation threshold for conductivity was found to be 10% of α-Fe2O3 contents in PPy. It arises from an enhanced homogeneous morphology, increase in crystallinity, particle size and shortening of conjugation chain length as confirmed by the scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis.