K. Chatterjee, Asaithambi Suresh, S. Ganguly
Dec 1, 2009
Citations
2
Influential Citations
39
Citations
Journal
Materials Characterization
Abstract
The present work consists of synthesis and characterization of a novel thermoelectric material polyaniline (PANI)-bismuth telluride (Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}) nanocomposite using simultaneous electrochemical reactions and deposition method. The inorganic bismuth nitrate has been used as a dopant for polyaniline to achieve high electrical conductivity. A semi-batch mode of operation has been employed to control the rate of deposition of an individual component and thus the molecular architecture of the composite. The electro-deposited composite film on ITO coated glass substrate has been characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), FTIR analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The microscopic analysis reveals the formation of rod-like nanostructures of diameter less than 100 nm. It has been found that smaller molecules of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} are dispersed in the macromolecules of PANI. The nanocomposite has been characterized by thermoelectric power.