Preparation and characterization of poly(3-methylthiophene)/CeY zeolite composites

Poly(3-methylthiophene)/CeY zeolite nanocomposites (P3MT/CeY) were prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization using anhydrous FeCl3 as the oxidizing agent. The physical and chemical properties of the prepared samples were measured using various characterization techniques, such as conductivity measurements, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and carbon-sulfur analysis. The prepared P3MT/CeY composites retained the crystalline structure of Y zeolite, which also enhanced thermostability. A 2000-fold increase in conductivity relative to a blank prepared using P3MT was observed for the composite prepared using a 3 : 1 g mL(-1) ratio of CeY and P3MT.