ISSN (Print) : 2320 – 3765 ISSN (Online): 2278 – 8875 International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization) Vol. 3, Issue 9, September 2014 10.15662/ijareeie.2014.0309072 Copyright to IJAREEIE www.ijareeie.com 12225 Electrical Conductivity Measurement Studies of Polyacrylonitrile/Polypyrrole (PAN/Ppy) Composite Mohammad Faraz Ahmer 1,* Salman Hameed 2 Research Scholar, Department of Electrical Engineering, Shri Venkateshwara University, Gagrola, India 1 Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India 2 ABSTRACT: An electrically conducting composite material polyacrylonitrile/Polypyrrole (PAN/Ppy) was prepared by sol-gel method. The temperature dependence of the DC electrical conductivity was measured on compressed pellets by using a 4-in-line-probe dc electrical conductivity-measuring instrument. The conductivity values lies in the semiconductor region, i.e., 10 -2 –10 -4 S cm -1 and follow the Arrhenius equation. The thermal stability of the composite material (HCl treated) in terms of dc electrical conductivity retention was studied under isothermal conditions (at 50, 70, 90, 110, 130 and 150 ° C) at 15 min intervals. The stability of the material (HCl treated) in terms of electrical conductivity retention was also monitored for five cycles for increasing temperatures at 1 h intervals. The composite material was found thermally and environmentally stable in terms of DC electrical conductivity retention. KEYWORDS: Electrical conductivity, thermal stability, organic/organic composite, polyacrylonitrile/polypyrrole. I. INTRODUCTION Conducting polymers are polymeric materials with metallic and semiconductor characteristics, a combination of properties not exhibited by any other known material. A key property of conductive polymers is the presence of conjugated double bonds along the backbone of the polymer. The chemistry noble prize in 2000 was awarded for the discovery and study of conducting polymers to the three scientists namely: Alan G.Mac Diarmid, Alan J. Heeger and Hideki Shirakawa. The biggest advantage of conductive polymers is their processability by dispersion. Conductive polymers combine the mechanical properties (flexibility, toughness, malleability, elasticity etc.) of plastics with high electrical conductivity. These properties can be fine tuned using different methods of organic synthesis. Conducting polymers have potential applications in various fields. The conductive and semiconducting properties of these polymers make them an important class of materials for a wide range of electronic, optoelectronic and biotechnological applications such as in rechargeable batteries, molecular electronics, electronic displays, solar cells, ion exchange membrane in fuel cells, diodes, capacitors, field-effect-transistors, printed circuit boards, chemical sensors, drug release systems and biosensors, etc. [1–4]. It is being projected that conducting polymers can be used to transport small electronic signals in the body, i.e. act as artificial nerves. Although conducting polymers have various potential applications there are some of the factors which hinders some of their applications such as the cyclability of conducting polymer is poor because electrochemical degradation occurs on the polymers leading to the decrease in pseudo capacitance and conductivity, lack of solubility, brittleness and lack of long term electrical stability further restricts their applications. To overcome these issues much efforts and significant improvements have been made to raise their applications. This can be done by using conducting polymer composites. Composites of intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) are materials that utilize conjugated polymers and at least one secondary component that can be inorganic or organic materials or biologically active species. The goal is to produce a new composite material that has distinct properties that were not observed in the individual components. This may include either new or improved chemical properties that can be exploited for chemical or biological sensing. CPCs are obtained by blending insulating polymers with conductive fillers such as carbon black, carbon fibres, metal particles or conducting polymers such as polyaniline [5]. Aim of using composites is to make use of the merits of the