A study on effect of MgO nanoparticles loading on the electrical conducting properties of polyvinyl alcohol/polyaniline polymer composite films

In this work, the polyvinyl alcohol/polyaniline/magnesium oxide (PPM) polymer nanocomposite films were fabricated for electrical conductivity studies. Initially, the magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles were synthesized by sol–gel method. Different PPM films were fabricated by varying the weight percent (0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 1%) of MgO in the polyvinyl alcohol/polyaniline polymer blend. The films were obtained by casting the PPM solution in the Petri-dish and dried. The crystallinity and morphology of MgO and PPM films were characterized by the X-ray diffraction spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The absorption spectra of MgO and PPM films were obtained by UV–visible spectroscopy. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra were obtained to determine the chemical nature. The thermal stability of the films was studied by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. The temperature-dependent (up to 150 °C) electrical conductivity of the PPM films was analysed by impedance equipment within the frequency band of 4 Hz to 1 MHz. The variation of MgO nanoparticles concentration in the polymer composite matrix and the increase in temperature influences the electrical conductivity of the films. Graphical Abstract