Morphology and electrical properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/titanium dioxide nanocomposites

Poly(3,4-ehtylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanocomposites including nano-sized titanium dioxide were prepared by in situ polymerization technique and were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-visible spectroscopy. Morphological studies of the nanocomposites were performed using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to support the formation of PEDOT-TiO2 nanocomposites. Results suggested that the TiO2 nanoparticles were well-dispersed in the PEDOT polymer matrix. The electric properties of the nanocomposites were obtained by measuring the temperature-dependent direct current (DC) conductivity between 300 and 500 K and low frequency alternate current conductivity between 0 and 10 kHz. The PEDOT-TiO2 nanocomposites exhibited remarkable improvement in the temperature-dependent DC conductivity with decreased dielectric constants and dielectric losses, compared to pure PEDOT polymer, which indicates their higher ability to store electric potential energy under the influence of an alternating electric field.