Green synthesis of polyaniline/clay/iron ternary nanocomposite by the one step solid state intercalation method

The incorporation of two or more active components into clay layered structure with uniform distribution is expected to facilitate wider applications of the material. In this study, nanocomposite composed of clay, polyaniline and iron nanoparticles was synthesized by a facile and environmentally friendly strategy for the first time. Local smectite clay from Tunisia was exchanged with Fe3+ then it was subjected to fine grinding with anilinium chloride using mortar grinder and the mixture has been allowed for ageing at ambient air until the change of color to dark green. Both interlayer Fe3+ cations and atmospheric oxygen act as oxidant for aniline polymerization. In addition, the presence of interlayer Fe3+ and Fe2+ cations (the result of the reduction of Fe3+) at the same time favors the formation of iron nanoparticles phase. Electrical and dielectric properties have studied using spectroscopy impedance. The ac conduction shows a regime of constant dc conductivity at low frequencies and a crossover to a frequency-dependent regime of the type AωS at high frequencies. The material shows high dielectric constant, resulting from the presence of iron nanoparticles, indicating its improved ability to store electric energy and to be used as capacitor.