Synthesis and characterization of copper ferrite nanoparticles doped polyaniline

In situ chemical oxidation polymerization was carried out to synthesize copper ferrite nanoparticles doped polyaniline (PANI/CuFe2O4). The copper ferrite nanoparticles were prepared by the co-precipitation method using metal nitrates as precursors. The materials were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM and TGA in order to determine the average crystallite size, arrangement of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix and thermal stability of the complex. The nanoparticles doped organic polymer showed good electrical conductivity with an activation energy value of 2.768 eV. The materials possess superior thermal stability than pure PANI. Furthermore, the adsorption properties of the materials were investigated by monitoring the adsorption of a textile azo-dye (Direct Yellow-27) in aqueous media using UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Adsorption was found to be a dose dependent performance i.e. as the amount of adsorbent increases, removal rate increases. The adsorption efficiency of the material to remove azo-dye was also tested at four different pH (3.0, 5.0, 8.0 and 11.0) and it was found that the PANI/CuFe2O4 exhibit excellent adsorption at pH 3.4. The results of the present study suggested that desired properties can be attained by mixing different proportions of PANI and nano CuFe2O4. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.