Organic-inorganic hybrid materials based on polyaniline/TiO(2) nanocomposites for ascorbic acid fuel cell systems

Polyaniline was grafted onto a mixture of rutile and anatase TiO(2) nanoparticles by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization. These nanocomposites were characterized by carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen (CHN) analysis, x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. FTIR and UV-vis confirm the formation of polyaniline on TiO(2) nanoparticles. The TEM shows that the composites consist of PANI and TiO(2) nanoparticles. Compared to the neat polyaniline, PANI/TiO(2) composites show a higher capacitance and also a higher activity per mass of polyaniline. Since the PANI/TiO(2) composites are stable during the electrooxidation of ascorbic acid, they can be used as an alternative catalyst for direct ascorbic acid fuel cells.