Photoluminescence and Raman evidence for mechanico-chemical interaction of polyaniline-emeraldine base with ZnS in cubic and hexagonal phase

The mechanico-chemical interaction of a polyaniline-emeraldine base (PANI-EB) with ZnS in the cubic and wurtzite phases is studied by Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL). The results demonstrate that such an interaction leads to the formation of a PANI-salt and metallic Zn. Regardless of the structural form of the ZnS, the formation PANI-salt is indicated by a band in the Raman spectrum that shifts from 1162 to 1176 cm−1 and the appearance of a new band at 1330 cm−1 that indicates the protonated structure of a PANI-salt. The presence of the second product is determined by comparative PL studies performed on ZnS that has interacted mechanico-chemically with PANI-EB and metallic Zn powder. The variations of the PL spectra and their associated excitation spectra are explained as resulting from the charge collection processes that occur in the composite materials produced by the mechanico-chemical interaction between ZnS and PANI-EB or metallic Zn.