The impact of graphene nano-plates on the behavior of novel conducting polyazomethine nanocomposites

Abstract

The aim of the current work was to synthesize a new series of polyazomethine/graphene nano-plate nanocomposites in the form of PAMs/GNP_a–e. Different compositions were fabricated according to the percentage of GNP loading. The composites were formed in situ during the polymerization reaction for the formation of pure PAMs. The corresponding pre-monomer (1), aminothiazole monomer (2) and consequently, new conducting PAMs polymer were synthesized. The structures of these compounds were confirmed by elemental and spectral analyses, including FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C-NMR. The pure PAMs and PAMs/GNP_a–e nanocomposites were characterized using available characterization techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analyses, conductivity tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were also performed. Furthermore, a comparative study was carried out to demonstrate the role of GNP inclusion into the PAMs polymer matrix in the form of nanocomposites. Intense absorption peaks related to GNPs and pure PAMs were observed in the FT-IR spectra of our new PAMs/GNP_a–e nanocomposites, and these peaks represent a good reference for the fabrication of such nanocomposites. The thermal degradation of pure PAMs and the PAMs/GNP_a–e nanocomposites occurred in two steps. The degradation steps were dependent upon the nature of the desired nanocomposites, which was mainly related to the decomposition of the pure PAMs content. Moreover, SEM images offered more obvious evidence for the formation of the nanocomposites. In addition, an electrical conductivity test showed a complete change in the conductivity behavior of PAMs upon GNP loading, from a very poor state to semiconductor behavior in the PAMs/GNP_a–e nanocomposites.