Conducting polymer nanocomposites: A brief overview

Inorganic nanoparticles of different nature and size can be combined with the conducting polymers, giving rise to a host of nanocomposites with interesting physical properties and important application potential. Such nanocomposites have been discussed in this review, throwing light on their synthesis techniques, properties, and applications. A large variety of nanoparticles have been chosen in this respect with inclusion techniques utilizing both chemical and electrochemical routes. The nature of the association between the components can be studied from TEM pictures. Depending upon the synthesis techniques and the characteristics of the inorganic materials, ultimate properties of the resulting composite are controlled. In this way, the exceptional colloidal stability of different silica sols have been utilized to form stable PPy-silica and PAn-silica nanocomposite colloids, Similarly the magnetic susceptibility of gamma-Fe2O3, the eletrochromic property of WO3, and the catalytic activity of Pd, Pt, etc, metals have been successfully combined with existing electrical conductivity of conducting polymers in the hybrid nanocomposite materials. Functional groups viz. -NH2 and -COOH have also been added to the composite particles and all these combinations and modifications have improved the applicability of conducting polymers in different fields, e.g., electrodes of batteries, display devices, immunodiagnostic assay, etc.