Abstract:
Electronically conducting polyaniline was made magnetic in nature by
incorporating magnetic metals into its matrix. In this connection, metallic Ni
particles were successfully dispersed onto polyaniline matrix by a simple
one step electrochemical method. Ni particles as deposited onto the polymer
(PANI/Ni) seem to have much smaller size compared to that deposited on
the bare Pt. Size of the Ni deposits was found to be influenced by the
electrolytic bath compositions and potential sweep rate. Polyaniline/Ni
matrix thus prepared was further characterized by a wide range of
experimental techniques including optical microscopy, scanning electron
microscopy, IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, solid-state d.c. conductance
. and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Polyaniline/Ni film matrix as
prepared was found to have excellent electroactivity. The stability and
durability of PANI/Ni film in repeated oxidation/reduction cycle and its
degradation at high positive potential were also examined. The result based
on cyclic voltammogram suggests a better electrochemical stability of the
polyaniline/Ni film electrode relative to the bulk polyaniline film.
Deposition of Ni both on a bare Pt and polyaniline surfaces were
performed by varying the electrolytic bath composition and potential sweep
rate. The bath composition employed are: (i) O.IM Ni-II salt solution, (ii)
O.IM Ni-ll salt + O.IM boric acid and (iii) O.IM Ni-ll salt + O.IM boric acid
+ 10-4 H2S04 solutions. Sweeping potential rates of 50 and 200 mV sec.1
were employed. Under all the experimental conditions employed, Ni was
found to be casted both on Pt and polyaniline substrates. An energy
dispersed X-ray analysis showed a Ni content of approximately 4.26% in the
polyaniline matrix.
