In situ polymerization of aniline was carried out in the presence of fly ash (FA) to synthesize polyaniline/ fly ash (PANI/FA) composites.
The PANI/FA composites have been synthesized with various compositions (15, 20, 30 and 40 wt%) of FA in PANI. The composites,
thus synthesized have been characterized by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The morphology of these samples was
studied by scanning electron microscopy. Further the a.c. conductivity of these composites have been investigated in the frequency
range 10
2–10
6 Hz. The presence of polarons and bipolarons are made responsible for frequency dependence of a.c. conductivity in these composites.
The Cole-Cole plots indicate clear shift in the distribution of relaxation times as the wt% of FA in PANI changes. These composites
show almost symmetric semicircles of Cole-Cole plots indicating the Debye-type relaxation in their polarization response.
Keywords Conductivity - polarons - polyaniline - fly ash