Organic-inorganic hybrid materials based on polyaniline/TiO2 nanocomposites for ascorbic acid fuel cell systems

Polyaniline was grafted onto a mixture of rutile and anatase TiO2 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 TiO2 nanoparticles. The TEM shows that the composites consist of PANI and TiO2 nanoparticles. Compared to the neat polyaniline, PANI/TiO2 composites show a higher capacitance and also a higher activity per mass of polyaniline. Since the PANI/TiO2 composites are stable during the electrooxidation of ascorbic acid, they can be used as an alternative catalyst for direct ascorbic acid fuel cells.