Synthesis and characterization of polypyrrole–TiO2 nanocomposites in supercritical CO2

The semiconducting polymer and inorganic metal oxide nanocomposites composed of polypyrrole/titanium dioxide (PPy/TiO2) were synthesized by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of TiO2 particles in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). TiO2 nanoparticles with average particle size of 5 nm were surface modified by 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (γ-MPS) in order to disperse effectively in CO2 before the polymerization. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image of the nanocomposite revealed well-dispersed TiO2 particles in PPy matrix. The nanocomposites were also confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and FT-IR spectroscopy.