Silver/Polyaniline Nanocomposite for the Electrocatalytic Hydrazine Oxidation

Abstract

Silver/polyaniline (Ag-PANi) nanocomposites were prepared via in situ reduction of silver in aniline by mild photolysis performed with short wavelength (365 nm) radiation from UV lamp for 12 h. Reduction of the silver in aqueous aniline leads to the formation of silver nanoparticles which in turn catalyze oxidation of aniline into polyaniline. A slightly broadened X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern suggests small particle which was size consistent with cubic silver nanoparticles. The UV-Vis absorption revealed that the bands at about 400-420 nm due to benzonoid ring of the polyaniline are overlapped and blue-shifted due to the presence of silver nanoparticles in powdered state. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the silver/polyaniline (Ag-PANi) nanocomposite showed a size distribution with nanofibers and granular morphology of silver nanoparticles. Our findings are not only the promising approach for electro-catalytic hydrazine oxidation but also utilized in the other bio-sensing applications. © 2011 The Author(s).