Original Article

High Performance Polymers

1–10
Structural characterization, electrical ª The Author(s) 2020
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DOI: 10.1177/0954008319899157
journals.sagepub.com/home/hip
of polypyrrole/Cu-Al2O3 hybrid
nanocomposites

S Sankar, K Parvathi and MT Ramesan

Abstract
The present work focused on the synthesis of polypyrrole (PPy) wrapped nano copper-alumina (Cu-Al2O3) composite
by an in situ polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticles. The polymerized samples were
systematically characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis,
scanning electron microscope (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), differential scan-
ning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The properties such as AC and DC conductivity,
dielectric constant, and ammonia gas sensing performance of PPy/Cu-Al2O3 composites were investigated in detail as a
function of Cu-Al2O3 content. The FTIR spectra showed the existence of sharp and resolved infrared bands of
nanoparticles in the PPy chain. The presence of the crystalline peaks of Cu-Al2O3 in the PPy matrix was confirmed from
the XRD analysis. SEM images revealed the homogenous growth of Cu-Al2O3 in the polymer with the formation of
spherically shaped particles. The HR-TEM observation showed that Cu-Al2O3 particles were dispersed at a nanometer
level in the nanocomposites with a width of 30–60 nm. The glass transition temperature of composites obtained from
DSC was found to be increased with increase in the content of nanoparticles. TGA analysis proved that the nano Cu-
Al2O3 in the content in the composites acted as a mass transport barrier that retards the degradation of the product.
The AC conductivity and dielectric constant of the nanocomposite showed that the maximum electrical properties
were observed for the composite with 5 weight percentage loading of Cu-Al2O3. DC conductivity showed that the
PPy/Cu-Al2O3 composites have higher electrical conductivity than PPy. The ammonia gas sensing property of the
composites was significantly enhanced by the addition of Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticles. Therefore, the improved properties
of synthesized PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposite can be useful for developing functional composite material for the fab-
rication of sensors, electronic devices, and high energy storage capacitors.

Keywords
Polypyrrole, copper-alumina, morphology, X-ray diffraction, thermal stability, electrical conductivity, gas sensor

Introduction unhandy for many industrial applications. The evolution

of PPy-inorganic hybrid material nanocomposites is a
Intrinsically conducting polymers are synthetic materials
solution to address these problems. The polymer-
with delocalized pi electrons throughout the polymer struc-
inorganic material nanocomposites are synthesized to
ture. Due to its diverse properties and applications, the
enhance the scanty properties of conducting polymers as
research in conducting polymers is advancing day by day.
Polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy), polyindole (PIN),
and polythiophene (PT) are important class of conducting
polymers.1–4 Among them, an interesting choice to the Department of Chemistry, University of Calicut, Malappuram, Kerala,
conducting polymer is PPy due to its unchallenging mode India
of synthesis (when compared with PANI, PIN, and PT),
Corresponding author:
slender weight, and enormous biocompatibility as well as MT Ramesan, Department of Chemistry, University of Calicut, Calicut
environmental stability.5,6 However, the deficiency of the University P.O., Malappuram 673 635, Kerala, India.
mechanical, electrical, and thermal stabilities makes PPy Email: [email protected]
2 High Performance Polymers XX(X)

it integrates the traits of both conducting polymers and addressed up to a certain extent by using fine particles such
inorganic fillers.7–10 The enhancement in properties of as oxides of aluminum in Cu. The alumina (Al2O3) is an
hybrid materials can be ascribed to the development of imperative metal oxide nanomaterial with exquisite ther-
some synergistic interactions between the nanofiller and mal stability, high dielectric constant, mechanical strength,
the charge transfer through the macromolecule. However, corrosion resistance, and excellent electrical conductivity.
the enhanced properties of hybrid material depend on the Reinforcement of aluminum oxide nanoparticles into the
weight fractions of filler used. Cu matrix can be used to manufacture devices fitting for
The polymer nanocomposites are preferred over the electrochemical, high temperature, abrasion, and wear-
polymer composites with conventional conductive fillers resistant applications. 24 Therefore, mixing copper-
as they hold superlative properties arising from its nano alumina (Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticles with conducting polymer
size and larger surface area. Commonly used inorganic will enhance the thermal stability, conductivity, and dielec-
filler for polymer nanocomposites are metal oxide nano- tric properties of the resultant polymer nanocomposites.
particles due to their astonishing electrical, magnetic, and Since there are no synthetic studies carried out on the rein-
thermal, gas-sensing, and catalytic properties.11–14 The forcement of Cu-Al2O3 with heterocyclic monomers, we
excellent electrical conductivity, dielectric constant, ther- report the fabrication, characterization, and properties of
mal properties, and optical traits of the polymer-metal PPy with series of Cu-Al2O3 hybrid by a simple in situ
oxide nanocomposites are irresistible material for concoct- polymerization technique.
ing numerous applications such as rechargeable batteries,
supercapacitors, electronic, and electrochemical
devices.9,15,16 The paucity of PPy can be surpassed by inte-
Experimental
grating the metal oxide nanomaterial into polymer abut- Materials and methods
ment.17–19 The nitrogen atom present in the heterocyclic
Double-distilled pyrrole monomer was used in this study,
ring of PPy is expected to have interaction with the metal
ferric chloride (FeCl3), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cop-
oxide nanomaterial and hence resulting in the encapsula-
per nitrate (Cu(NO3)2), aluminum nitrate (Al(NO3)3), and
tion of nanoparticles by the polymer. Thus PPy-metal oxide
urea were purchased from Merck India. Deionized water
nanocomposites consolidate the general traits of metals
was used as a solvent for all the experiments.
(mechanical properties, thermal stability, and magnetic
properties) with that of the conducting polymers (light-
weight, biocompatibility, environmental stabilities, etc.). Synthesis of Cu-Al2O3 nanomaterials
The important modes for synthesizing PPy/metal oxide Cu-Al2O3 nano-powders were synthesized by the thermo-
nanocomposites are electrochemical and chemical meth- chemical technique with a slight modification of previous
ods.20–22 Mostly, the films of polymer nanocomposites are work.25 An appropriate amount of Cu(NO3)2 and Al(NO3)3
obtained from electrochemical methods and powder sam- solution were mixed with urea in the ratio of 1:2:3 were
ples via a chemical mode of synthesis. The size and mor- used to synthesize Cu-Al2O3 powders. This solution was
phology of the nanocomposite films cannot be tuned by stirred at 100 C until it becomes viscous. The resultant
electrochemical synthesis due to their prolonged exposure mixture was kept in the muffle furnace at 500 C for 3 h.
to the electric field. The chemical mode of synthesis The powder obtained was instantly moved into the
includes mechanical mixing, solution phase synthesis, and desiccator.
in situ oxidation polymerization. Homogeneity could not
be assured in mechanical mixing due to the agglomeration
of nanoparticles. The usage of organic solvent in solution
Synthesis of PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites
phase synthesis can cause adverse effects on the environ- Chemically polymerized PPy with different contents of Cu-
ment and health. The major issue that needs to be addressed Al2O3 nanocomposites was synthesized by in situ tech-
is the agglomeration of nanoparticles and also the challenge nique using FeCl3 as an oxidant in an aqueous medium.
as to how to disperse them uniformly in the polymer matrix. Firstly, different contents of Cu-Al2O3 nano-powder (0, 1,
The in situ polymerization is a cost-effective method that 3, 5, and 7 wt%) were added to the aqueous solution of SDS
can provide homogenous mixing with uniform distribution (0.01 mol) followed by pyrrole (0.02 mol) monomer and
of particles in the polymer, apart from that there exists ultrasonicated it for 30 min. An aqueous FeCl3 (0.06 mol)
synergistic interaction between nanomaterial and the poly- solution was added dropwise to the above solution under
mer matrix.10,18 vigorous stirring, it turned to a characteristic black color
Copper (Cu) has been widely used in many industrial indicating the polymerization reaction. After 7 h of stirring,
applications because of its superior thermal and electrical the hybrid PPy/metal oxide was washed with deionized
conductivity. However, Cu has inadequate mechanical water and finally, the unreacted monomer was removed
properties from the structural application point of view.23 from the mixture by washing it with methanol. The
The problem of inadequate mechanical properties has been obtained nanocomposites were dried at 70 C for 24 h.
Sankar et al. 3

Characterization of samples
The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra in the range
of 4000–400 cm1 were investigated via JASCO (Japan)
4100 FTIR spectrometer with potassium bromide pellets to
reveal the molecular structure of PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocom-
posites. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was carried
out by the X-ray diffractometer (Bruker D8, Germany),
Advance Diffractometer) using copper K ( ¼ 1.5407
Å) radiation for observing the crystal structure of the sam-
ples. The surface morphology of the PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nano-
composites was analyzed by a scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) using a Carl Zeiss (Germany) VP-500
model. A high-resolution transmission electron microscope
(HR-TEM) was carried out (JEOL, Japan), JEM-2100 HR,
Japan) to study size, shape, and dispersion of nanoparticles
Figure 1. FTIR spectra of Cu-Al2O3, PPy, and PPy with Cu-Al2O3
inside conducting polymer matrix. The glass transition nanoparticles.
temperatures (Tg) of PPy and its composites were studied
by the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique
(Shimadzu DSC-50, Japan) using 7 mg of a sample ascribed to C¼C vibrations. The peaks between 800 cm1
between room temperature and 350 C at a heating rate of and 950 cm1 corresponds to C–H wagging. The FTIR
10 C min1. The isothermal weight loss measurements spectrum of PPy synthesized for this work is well in accor-
were carried out by Hitachi (Japan) STA7200 thermogravi- dance with that of literature.27 Focusing on the FTIR spec-
metric analyzer (TGA). All the measurements were carried trum of Cu-Al2O3, the peak at 581 cm1 can be attributed
out in an inert atmosphere using a sample weight of 8 mg to the Cu–O stretching.28 The peak at 3399 and 1626 cm1
from room temperature to 600 C at a scan rate of 10 C can be assigned to the O–H stretching and bending vibra-
min1. The AC electrical properties are investigated utiliz- tion (associated with a physisorbed water molecule).
ing a programmable automatic (Model Hioki 3570M From the FTIR spectrum of PPy nanocomposite, it is
Hi-tester, Japan) to study the dielectric constant and loss observed that Cu–O stretching frequency appears at 591
tangent (tan ), with the frequencies from 100 Hz to 106 Hz. cm1 in the composite. When the FTIR spectra of PPy and
DC conductivity of samples at room temperature was mea- PPy-Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposite are compared, it is seen that
sured using a fully automatic Keithley 2400 system (USA). the N–H frequency in PPy-Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposite is
The ammonia (100 ppm) gas sensing ability of the PPy with broadened with a shift in the position of the peak toward
different loading of Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticles was carried the lowest wavenumber (3476 cm1) which reveals the
out. The experimental setup for the gas performance study interaction between nitrogen in the heterocyclic ring with
was described in previous work.26 The response or sensi- the nanomaterial. Thus, the successful incorporation of Cu-
tivity of gas was determined as Al2O3 within the PPy backbone has been deduced from the

FTIR spectrum.
Rg  Ro
S¼
Ro X-ray diffraction analysis
where Rg and Ro are the measured resistances of sensors in
The crystal structure of nanocomposites and the interaction
ammonia and air, respectively. The gas sensitivity test was
of nanofillers with the polymer matrix can be determined
carried out three times and the average values were taken.
by XRD analysis. The XRD pattern of PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nano-
composites with different loadings of Cu-Al2O3 nanoma-
Results and discussion terial and PPy is shown in Figure 2. The XRD pattern of
Cu-Al2O3 depicts the crystalline peaks at 2 ¼ 25.35 ,
FTIR spectra 32.52 , 35.35 , 38.67 , 43.35 , 48.68 , 52.50 , 57.64 ,
The molecular structure and the interaction of functional 60.73 , 66.09 , and 68.39 .28 The XRD pattern of PPy
groups present in the polymer with nanoparticles are clar- shows a characteristic broad peak at a 2 value around
ified by the FTIR spectrum. The FTIR spectrum of PPy, 25.57 which is an indication of the amorphous nature of
PPy-Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposite, and Cu-Al2O3 is mani- the polymer. In the case of PPy-Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposite,
fested in Figure 1. Taking the FTIR spectrum of PPy into crystalline peaks (at 2 value ¼ 35.22 , 38.37 , 43.41 ,
account, the characteristic N–H, C–H, and C–N stretching 48.50 , 57.05 , and 66.66 ) are also seen in the XRD pat-
frequencies are observed at 3516, 2924, and 1306 cm1, tern along with the decrease in the broadness of the amor-
respectively. The peaks at 1448 and 1552 cm1 can be phous peak. The average crystal grain size of the
4 High Performance Polymers XX(X)

Figure 2. XRD pattern of Cu-Al2O3 and PPy with different contents of Cu-Al2O3. XRD: X-ray diffraction; Cu-Al2O3: copper-alumina;
PPy: polypyrrole.

nanoparticles in the composite has been determined from that the PPy-nanocomposite with 5 wt% filler has better
the Scherer’s formula given by D ¼ 0.9/cos; where D is uniformity than others. The proposition for their better uni-
the average crystallite size,  is the X-ray wavelength formity being the interfacial interaction originated between
(1.5407 Å), and  is the full width at half maximum in the polymer matrix and the mixed metal-oxide nanoparti-
radian. The average size of the nanoparticle is found to cles. At higher loading (7 wt%), the distance between the
be 24.58 nm. It is also evident from the figure that a hike adjacent particles is too short and hence more stress is
in the intensity of the crystalline peaks is observed with an developed in the composite system. This stress leads to
increase in the loading of filler particles. This reminds us poor interaction of PPy chain and the nanoparticles and
the interfacial interactions emanated between the nanopar- hence the aggregations of particles are observed in the SEM
ticles and the polymer abutment. Thus, the XRD result image of PPy/7 wt% Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposite (Figure
supports the formation of nanoparticles in the composite 3(d)).
and this result is in good agreement with the FTIR analysis.

Scanning electron microscopy High-resolution transmission electron microscopy

The insights about the surface topography are obtained The HR-TEM micrograph explains the structure, shape,
from the SEM analysis. The SEM images of PPy and and size of the composite. Figure 4 depicts the HR-TEM
PPy-Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites at different loadings (3, 5, images of Cu-Al2O3 incorporated PPy. The nanoparticles
and 7wt %) are demonstrated in Figure 3. It is obvious from are visible in the polymer composites with an elongated and
the SEM image of PPy (Figure 3(a)) that the polymer has an spherical structure having a diameter ranging from 30 nm
irregular granular structure with an uneven morphology. As to 60 nm. This means that the Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticle is
the nano Cu-Al2O3 introduced into PPy, the uneven mor- homogeneously dispersed in the PPy matrix during the in
phology is converted into slightly spherical particles which situ polymerization technique. From Figure 4(b) it can be
are evident from Figure 3(b) to (d). When the SEM micro- seen that the interaction between PPy and the Cu-Al2O3 is
graphs of the nanocomposites are compared, it is evident poor which result in an irregular morphology with the
Sankar et al. 5

Figure 3. SEM images of (a) PPy, (b) PPy/3 wt% Cu-Al2O3, (c) PPy/5 wt% Cu-Al2O3, and (d) PPy/7 wt% Cu-Al2O3. SEM: scanning
electron microscopy; PPy: polypyrrole; Cu-Al2O3: copper-alumina.

Figure 4. HR-TEM images of (a) PPy/5 wt% Cu-Al2O3 and (b) PPy/7 wt% Cu-Al2O3. HR-TEM: high-resolution transmission electron
microscope; PPy: polypyrrole; Cu-Al2O3: copper-alumina.

formation of cluster or agglomerations. The result obtained the present study have appeared as two endothermic peaks.
from the HR-TEM analysis is conclusive with SEM results. The Tg of pure PPy is observed at 106 and Tm at 298 C.
For PPy/3 wt% Cu-Al2O3, the Tg and Tm are slightly
increased to 113 C and 312 C, respectively. Similarly, the
Differential scanning calorimetry Tg and Tm of PPy with 7 wt% Cu-Al2O3 are shifted to
A polymeric material can be characterized easily from their 117 C and 318 C. This suggests that the segmental mobi-
DSC pattern by determining the phase transition tempera- lity of the polymer chain is interrupted due to the confine-
tures (Tg, crystalline temperature, or melting temperature ment of nanomaterial into the polymer matrix and hence Tg
(Tm)) associated with the polymer composites. The DSC and Tm values of all nanocomposites are shifted to higher
pattern of PPy and PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites at dif- values than pure PPy. The increase in Tg in polymer nano-
ferent loadings is shown in Figure 5. The Tg and the Tm in composites indicates that the nanoparticles in the polymer
6 High Performance Polymers XX(X)

Figure 5. DSC profile of PPy with different contents of Cu-Al2O3 Figure 7. The AC conductivity of PPy with various concentra-
nanoparticles. DSC: differential scanning calorimetry; PPy: poly- tions of Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticles. PPy: polypyrrole; Cu-Al2O3:
pyrrole; Cu-Al2O3: copper-alumina. copper-alumina.

composites is found to be shifted to higher temperature by

the encapsulation of Cu-Al2O3 in the polymer. For exam-
ple, the decomposition temperature of polymeric compo-
nents in PPy occurs at 169 C whereas the composite with
3 and 7 wt% of Cu-Al2O3 incorporated PPy decomposes at
198 C and 214 C, respectively. The strong interaction
between the polymer chain and the nanoparticles is respon-
sible for the higher thermal stability of PPy composite with
the addition of Cu-Al2O3.18 The existence of these interac-
tions has already been observed from the FTIR and HR-
TEM analysis. The final weight loss obtained at 600 C for
pure PPy is only 46.78% whereas the composite with 3 and
7 wt% PPy/Cu-Al2O3 composite shows the final char reside
around 59.22 and 61.74%, respectively, at 600 C and a
similar result was observed in our previous work.29
Figure 6. TGA patterns of PPy with different contents of Cu-
Al2O3 nanoparticles. TGA: thermogravimetric analysis; PPy:
polypyrrole; Cu-Al2O3: copper-alumina. AC conductivity
The conductivity of a polymeric material with frequency
are highly ordered when compared with the bare polymer can be accounted to their grain boundaries and polarization
and this inference also supports the result obtained from X- emanating at the site of interfacial contact. The log (AC
ray diffraction studies. conductivity) versus log (frequency) plot at room tempera-
ture for PPy and PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites at various
loadings is shown in Figure 7. It can be seen that at the
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) lower frequency region, the AC conductivity of the mate-
The thermal stability of the polymer and its nanocompo- rial is equal in magnitude with their DC conductivity hence
sites up to 600 C has been assessed with the TGA. The not much varied with frequency. But once the frequency
TGA thermograms of PPy and PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocompo- reaches a particular value, the AC conductivity further
sites at different loadings are shown in Figure 6. All the enhanced with the frequency by the formation of polarons
samples showed two stages of weight loss. The initial and bipolarons.30 The charge transport (polarons and bipo-
weight (>127 C) loss of PPy is approximately 14% and larons) through the conjugated polymeric system of PPy
this can be attributed to the loss of water molecules trapped and charge hopping between the chains is responsible for
on the surface, dimer, or unreacted monomer in the poly- the conductivity in PPy and its composites.31
mer. The second weight loss between 137 C and 600 C is The PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites hold superior con-
41.82%, indicating the decomposition of organic compo- ductivity than PPy. From XRD and DSC results, it is evi-
nents. It can be seen that the decomposition temperature of dent that the incorporation of nanomaterial imparts
Sankar et al. 7

Figure 8. The DC conductivity of PPy with different contents of

Cu-Al2O3 nanoparticles. PPy: polypyrrole; Cu-Al2O3: copper- Figure 9. Variation of the dielectric constant of PPy with different
alumina. concentrations of Cu-Al2O3. PPy: polypyrrole; Cu-Al2O3: copper-
alumina.

systematic arrangement of nanoparticles within the poly-

meric matrix and hence the AC conductivity PPy/Cu-Al2O3 the conductivity of composite is found to be slight increases
nanocomposites are remarkably higher than that of pure in comparison with the increasing trend of 5 wt% sample.
PPy. Among the nanocomposites, 5 wt% Cu-Al2O3 incor- This is due to the decrease in hopping of electron in the
porated PPy exhibits higher conductivity and this means composite, which arises from the clustering of nanoparti-
that the interaction between the filler and polymer is max- cles in the polymer.33
imum at this loading. Due to the agglomeration of nano-
particles, the interfacial interaction between the polymer Dielectric constant
and filler is much reduced at higher loading (7 wt%) and
therefore the conductivity is slightly decreased as com- Polymer composite with high dielectric constant has an
pared with 5 wt% composite. important role in the electronics domain because of their
various applications in electro-active materials, microelec-
tronic devices, and other energy storage devices. The dis-
DC conductivity studies placement current generated in a material when exposed to
The conductivity of polymeric material commences with an applied electric field is responsible for polarizations
the motion of electrons within the molecular structure. The within them. The polarizability of a material is a function
motion of electrons in the polymeric system can be of their dielectric constant (er). Figure 9 shows the plot of
described by conduction path theory, tunnel effect theory, dielectric constant with the frequency of PPy and PPy/Cu-
and electric filed radiation theory.32 Current-voltage (IV) Al2O3 nanocomposites. Initially, the er decreases steeply
characteristics of PPy and PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites with frequency and reaches to linear value at a particular
at various loadings are shown in Figure 8. I-V plot of poly- frequency. At low-frequency region, there is enough time
mer and the composites is linear in nature, which implies for polarization (alignment or orientation of charges)
that the resistance of the materials is uniform throughout within which the dipoles of charges align themselves to the
the system. In PPy/Cu-Al2O3 nanocomposites, the Cu- surface and hence the dielectric constant decreases with
Al2O3 nanomaterials act as a link between the PPy seg- frequencies. At higher frequencies, the dipoles will not get
ments for hopping of the electrons hence their electrical time to align with the field and thus becomes constant with
conductivity is outrageous than pure polymer. Charge frequency. It is obvious from the figure that the energy
transfer in a polymer nanocomposite is expedited by the storage capacity of composites is more intensified than that
interfacial interactions. The SEM result of composites dis- of the bare polymer which is due to the Maxwell–Wagner–
cussed earlier showed that the Cu-Al2O3 nanofillers are Sillars polarization effect.34 The extent of polarization
homogenously distributed in composite with 5 wt.% Cu- through the Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars effect is maximum
Al2O3 which implies that the interfacial interaction is max- in PPy/5 wt% Cu-Al2O3 because of the good interfacial
imum at this loading. interactions and hence their dielectric properties are on the
The DC conductivity of PPy is steadily and sharply higher side. Moreover, the displacement of charges in the
increases with an increase in the loading of Cu-Al2O3 up interface regions of polymers and the nanoparticles is suf-
to 5 wt% of Cu-Al2O3. At a higher loading of nanoparticles, ficient enough to reduce a small portion of applied signal
8 High Performance Polymers XX(X)

frequency thus leading to the improved dielectric constant

for the nanocomposite system.35

Gas sensing studies

The schematic representation of the experimental setup for
ammonia gas sensing properties of polymer composite is
given in Figure 10. Figures 11 and 12 show the sensing
characteristics of PPy/Cu-Al 2O 3 nanocomposite when
exposed to ammonia gas. The sample chamber is kept in
an ammoniated atmosphere and the sensing of a compo-
site is shown by the plot of resistance against time. It is
evident from the graph that the resistance of the parent
polymer is the highest. The high electrical resistance of
the parent polymer can be explained by the reduction of
charge carriers due to the adsorption of ammonia gas in its
matrix.36 The composite with 5 wt% Cu-Al2O3 shows a
decrease in resistance and beyond 5 wt% loading, and the
Figure 10. The experimental setup for ammonia gas-sensing sample shows a slight increase in resistance as compared
properties of polymer composites. to 5 wt% sample.

Figure 11. Gas-sensing response for ammonia gas of PPy with various contents of Cu-Al2O3. PPy: polypyrrole; Cu-Al2O3: copper-
alumina.
Sankar et al. 9

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.

Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support
for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The
authors (MT Ramesan and K Parvathi) greatly acknowledge the
financial assistance from KSCSTE, Government of Kerala, India
(order no. 566/2017/KSCSTE).

ORCID iD
MT Ramesan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5709-0479
Figure 12. Change in gas sensitivity of PPy with different con-
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