Surfactant Incorporated Co Nanoparticles Polymer Composites with Uniform Dispersion and Double Percolation

Series of Cobalt nanoparticles incorporated polymethylmethacrylate composites in the presence and absence of dodecyl-benzene-sulphonic acid (DBSA-CoNPs/PMMA and CoNPs/PMMA, resp.) were synthesized by solution mixing methodology. UV-visible and FTIR techniques were used to confirm the formation of nanocomposite. UV-visible spectra of the composites showed the incorporation of filler particles in the polymer matrix. On the other hand, FTIR spectra indicated the physical interaction between the two phases of the composite. Moreover, the electrical nature of the composites was studied by plotting graphs between electrical conductivity (measured using LCR meter at 100 kHz) and contents of the filler particles as introduced in the polymer matrix. An increase in electrical conductivity was first observed with increasing filler concentration up to the critical percolation threshold value (0.5% for DBSA-CoNPs/PMMA and 1% for CoNPs/PMMA), which then dropped upon further increments in the filler content. However, at higher concentrations, a second jump in the conductivity was observed in case of DBSA-CoNPs/PMMA composites.