A one-step electrochemical process has been employed to synthesize composite films of polypyrrole/graphene (PPy/ GR) by electrochemical polymerization on indium tin oxide (ITO) from an aqueous solution containing pyrrole monomer, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and sodium p-toluenesulfonate (NapTS). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirmed the formation of a composite; the degradation temperature of the new hybrid was between those of PPy and GO. Moreover, the bulbous surface of PPy and the almost transparent tissue-like GO nanosheets were replaced by the new appearance of the composite where the surface was flat but creased. As GO is nonconductive, we deduced that it had been reduced to conducting graphene in the composite film during the electrodeposition process, based on an electrical conductivity study measured with a four-point probe. On average, the electrical conductivity of the PPy/GR composites was twofold higher than that of the pure PPy film, indicating that the incorporation of graphene was able to enhance the conductivity of PPy film.
The crosslinked chitosan thin film had been studied as a sensor element of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) optical sensor. Crosslinked chitosan solution was synthesized by homogeneous reaction of medium molecular weight chitosan in aqueous acetic acid solution with glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent. It was deposited on gold film by spin coating. Using SPR technique, the optical properties of crosslinked chitosan thin film before and after contacting with different concentration of Pb(II) ion in a range of 0.5-100 ppm had been obtained by fitting. The resonance angle shifted to lower value as the Pb(II) ion concentration increased. Changes in the resonance angle (Δθ) are directly proportional to the concentration of Pb(II) ion solution. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) had been employed to confirm chemical elements and their bonding of the thin film prior to adsorption, as well as chemical interactions involved between Pb(II) ion and the thin film. Keyword: Crosslinked chitosan; Pb(II) ion; Surface plasmon resonance (SPR); X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
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