Water-dispersible multifunctional polyaniline-laponite-keggin iron nanocomposites through a template approach

Abstract

Water dispersible nanostructured multifunctional polyaniline-laponite-keggin iron cation composites (PPIL) were prepared by the oxidative polymerization of aniline in the presence of an aqueous dispersion of keggin iron-laponite (PIL) at room temperature. Negatively charged ions on the surface and residual positive charges on the edges of the laponite disc adsorb both keggin iron and aniline through ion-dipole and ionic interactions and can act as a micellar template during polymerisation. We suggest that keggin cages act as linkages between disorganized laponite sheets and during polymerisation, the disorganised PIL discs are co-structured and self-assembled with the formed PANI and engulfed layers and rolled sheets of nanotubes. These multifunctional composites exhibited electrical conductivity ∼ 5.7 × 10⁻¹ S cm⁻¹, saturation magnetization ∼ 9.0 × 10⁻¹ emu g⁻¹ with coercivity 8.2 Oe and thermal stability ∼ 300 °C, revealing their utility as a novel precursor for many high technological applications.