Synthesis and characterization of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Polypyrrole-Silver nanocomposite polymer films

The present paper describes the preparation and characterization of Polyvinyl Alcohol-Polypyrrole-Silver Nanocomposite (PVA-PPy-Ag NC) films. The prepared films were conducting, freestanding, flexible, and robust. Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were synthesized from an aqueous solution of silver nitrate using trisodium citrate as a reductant. The casting solution for the films was prepared by in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole. This was done in the presence of Polyvinyl Alcohol and suspension of pre-synthesized silver nanoparticles. The absorption band at 424 nm in UV-Visible Spectroscopy of silver nanoparticles confirmed the formation of Ag nanoparticles. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) studies revealed that spherical Ag NPs were produced with an average size of ~ 25 nm. The morphological analysis of the synthesized PVA-PPy-Ag nanocomposite films was carried out using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). It was observed in the TEM images that Ag nanoparticles were well dispersed and conjugated in the PVA-PPy matrix. The structure of the produced films was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). X-ray diffraction analysis exhibited the crystalline nature of the silver nanoparticles with a face-centered cubic (fcc) structure. The synthesized PVA-PPy-Ag nanocomposite films can be further utilized as potential material for the fabrication of gas sensors.