Considering the magnificent optical and electric properties of polyaniline (PANI), in this study, PANI, PANI/MFe2O4 (M = Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) composites were studied. Polyaniline and their composites with ferrites were prepared via chemical oxidation method. Ferrites were synthesized through co-precipitation method. Structural properties were investigated using X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) respectively. Their results reveal the semi-crystalline nature of synthesized materials with the crystallite size in the range of 21.78 to 37.20 nm. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis also confirmed the formation of all the nano-sized synthesized composites. In the UV-Vis analysis, the optical band gap of composites is reducing upto 1.01 eV for PANI-cobalt ferrite as compared to pure PANI (2.38 eV). The inclusions of ferrites particles have caused an enhancement in electrical conductivity of pure PANI. It is 3*10-4 S/cm at high frequency for PANI and increased upto 5*10-4 S/cm for PANI-Zinc Ferrite composite. The investigated data shows the enhanced optical and electric properties of PANI/ferrites composites to a great extent, making them promising materials for different applications.

Li(x)Ni(1-x)O (x = 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03) samples were synthesized via sol-gel process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirms the formation of Li(x)Ni(1-x)O (x = 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03) series. Powder X-ray diffraction technique was used for the analysis of crystallite properties. The mean crystallite size using Scherrer’s Method has been found to be 21.66 nm, 20.09 nm and 19.25 nm for Li(x)Ni(1-x)O (0.01, 0.02 and 0.03) respectively, which is a rough estimate. To inspect the impact of strain induced in Li(x)Ni(1-x)O further analysis has been done. Willamson Hall Plot-Uniform Deformation Model (WH-UDM), Size-Strain (SSP) and Halder-Wagner Plot (H-W) Models were applied to determine physical and microstructural parameters i.e. crystallite size and lattice strain of Li(x)Ni(1-x)O (x = 1%, 2% and 3%) using X-ray powder diffraction analysis. The morphology of Li(x)Ni(1-x)O (x = 1%, 2% and 3%) has been analyzed by High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HRTEM). The outcomes of estimated mean crystallite size determined by Scherrer’s Method, WH-UDM Plot, SSP and W-H models were compared with morphologically investigated crystallite size via TEM analysis.

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In this study, PANI, PANI/MFe2O4 (M = Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) composites were studied. Polyaniline and their composites with ferrites were prepared via chemical oxidation method. Ferrites were synthesized through co-precipitation method. Structural properties were investigated using X-Ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) respectively. Pure ferrites were found to be of crystalline nature, whereas composites are found to be semi crystalline in nature. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis confirmed the formation of all the synthesized composites. The optical band gap of composites is reducing as compared to Pure PANI (1.7 eV), which is in agreement with already reported work. The inclusions of ferrites particles have caused an enhancement in electrical conductivity of pure PANI. Conduction mechanism observed from Nyquist plots of composites is found to involve both grain as well as grain boundaries. The transition metal spinel ferrites have enhanced the optical and electric properties of PANI to a great extent, making them promising materials for different applications.