Influence of silver nanoparticles on the surface characteristics and electrical properties of polypyrrole/PET polymeric composite films for electronic devices

The motivation behind this study is to fabricate novel nanocomposite materials with stronger
dielectric characteristics to be applied in electronic devices. The chemical oxidative polymeri
zation technique was employed to fabricate the PET/(PPy-Ag) polymer composite ¯lms. These
¯lms consist of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and polypyrrole (PPy), and the blend (PPy-Ag) is
then deposited on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The choice of method
depends on the desired application, the properties of the polymer and the level of nanoparticle
dispersion required. The characterization methods, Fourier-transform-infrared spectroscopy
(FTIR) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were utilized in this study. The EDX data show
that the PET/(PPy-Ag) is successfully fabricated with elements C, N, O and Ag, with weight
ratios of 15.76%, 8.92%, 65.88% and 9.44%, respectively. The in°uence of (PPy-Ag) on the
conductivity and surface wettability of PET was evaluated. The surface-free energy and
adhesion work were determined using contact angle measurements. The surface-free energy
increased from 41.64 to 60.24mJ/m2 and the water adhesion work increased from 98.78mJ/m2
for PET/(PPy-Ag)-1 to 121.01mJ/m2 for PET/(PPy-Ag). Moreover, the conductivity
enhanced from 6:2 10 9S.cm1 for PET to 2:4 10 6S.cm1 for (PPy-Ag)/PET.
By modifying the properties of the composite PET/(PPy-Ag), the results demonstrated that
the fabricated composite can be used as an electronic and industrial device.