Flexible regenerated cellulose/polypyrrole composite films with enhanced dielectric properties

Sreejesh Poikavila Raghunathan; Sona Narayanan; Aby Cheruvathur Poulose; Rani Joseph

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.10.065

Flexible regenerated cellulose/polypyrrole composite films with enhanced dielectric properties

Carbohydr Polym. 2017 Feb 10:157:1024-1032. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.10.065. Epub 2016 Oct 21.

Authors

Sreejesh Poikavila Raghunathan¹, Sona Narayanan², Aby Cheruvathur Poulose³, Rani Joseph⁴

Affiliations

¹ Polymer Science and Rubber Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin-22, India; Federal Institute of Science and Technology, Hormis Nagar, Angamaly, Kerala, India.
² School of Chemical Sciences, MG University, Kottayam, Kerala, India.
³ Bio-Nano Electronics Research Centre, Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Polymer Science and Rubber Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin-22, India. Electronic address: prsreejesh@gmail.com.

PMID: 27987802
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.10.065

Abstract

Flexible regenerated cellulose/polypyrrole (RC-PPy) conductive composite films were prepared by insitu polymerization of pyrrole on regenerated cellulose (RC) matrix using ammonium persulphate as oxidant. FTIR, XPS and XRD analysis of RC-PPy composite films revealed strong interaction between polypyrrole (PPy) and RC matrix. XRD results indicated that crystalline structure of RC matrix remains intact even after composite formation. SEM micrographs revealed the formation of a continuous conductive network of PPy particles in the RC matrix, leading to significant improvement in electrical and dielectric properties. The electrical conductivity of RC-PPy composites with 12wt% of PPy was 3.2×10^-5S/cm, which is approximately seven fold higher than that of RC. Composites showed high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss values, which is essential in capacitor application.

Keywords: Conductive composite; Dielectric property; In situ polymerization; Polypyrrole; Regenerated cellulose.